Job, 20

¹ Zoʹphar the Naʹa·ma·thite said in reply:

² “This is why my own troubling thoughts urge me to answer Because of the agitation I feel.

³ I have heard a reproof that insults me; And my understanding^*1 impels me to reply.

⁴ Surely you must have always known this, For it has been so since man^*1 was put on the earth,

⁵ That the joyful cry of the wicked is brief And the rejoicing of the godless one^*1 is for a moment.

⁶ Although his greatness ascends to heaven And his head reaches to the clouds,

⁷ He will perish forever like his own dung; Those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’

⁸ He will fly off like a dream, and they will not find him; He will be chased away like a vision of the night.

⁹ The eye that once saw him will not do so again, And his place will behold him no more.

¹⁰ His own children will seek the favor of the poor, And his own hands will give back his wealth.

¹¹ His bones were full of youthful vigor, But it^*1 will lie down with him in mere dust.

¹² If what is bad tastes sweet in his mouth, If he hides it under his tongue,

¹³ If he savors it and does not let it go But keeps holding it in his mouth,

¹⁴ His food will turn sour inside him; It will become like the poison^*1 of cobras within him.

¹⁵ He has swallowed down wealth, but he will vomit it up; God will empty it out of his belly.

¹⁶ The venom of cobras he will suck; The fangs^*1 of a viper will kill him.

¹⁷ He will never see the streams of water, The torrents of honey and butter.

¹⁸ He will give back his goods without consuming them;^*1 He will not enjoy the wealth from his trade.

¹⁹ For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; He has seized a house that he did not build.

²⁰ But he will feel no peace within himself; His wealth will not help him escape.

²¹ There is nothing left for him to devour; That is why his prosperity will not last.

²² When his wealth reaches its peak, anxiety will overtake him; The full force of misfortune will come against him.

²³ As he fills his belly, God^*1 will send his burning anger upon him, Raining it down upon him into his bowels.

²⁴ When he flees from weapons of iron, Arrows from a copper bow will pierce him.

²⁵ He pulls an arrow from his back, A glittering weapon from his gall, And terror seizes him.

²⁶ Total darkness awaits his treasures; A fire that no one fanned will consume him; Calamity awaits any survivors in his tent.

²⁷ Heaven will uncover his error; The earth will rise up against him.

²⁸ A flood will sweep his house away; It will be a heavy torrent on the day of God’s^*1 anger.

²⁹ This is the wicked man’s share from God, The inheritance that God has decreed for him.”