Job 20–22

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.

4Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,

5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

6Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,

7he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.

10His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.

11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.

12Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,

13though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,

14yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

15He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.

16He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.

20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.

21Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.

22In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

23When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

25It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.

26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

28The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

29This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”

1Then Job answered:

2“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.

3Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.

4Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?

5Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.

6When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.

7Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?

8Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.

9Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.

10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.

11They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,

12singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.

13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

14Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.

15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

16Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?

18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?

19It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.

20Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.

21For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?

22Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?

23One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.

24His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.

25Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.

26But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.

27Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

28For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’

29Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?

30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.

31Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?

32He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.

33The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.

34So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?

3Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

4Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you?

5Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless?

6For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing.

7You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,

8while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.

9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you;

11it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

12Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

13Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?

14Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’

15Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?

16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.

17They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’

18But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

19The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:

20‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’

21Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.

22Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents

24and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,

25then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you.

26Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.

28Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.

29When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly.

30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”