Job 20

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Zophar the Naamathite responds to Job, driven by his turbulent thoughts and a perceived rebuke. He asserts that the triumph of the wicked is always short-lived and that the godless person ultimately perishes forever, forgotten by those who knew him. Zophar details how the wicked man's ill-gotten wealth, possessions, and youthful vigor will be stripped away, forcing his children to appease the poor. He describes the wicked person as swallowing wealth only to vomit it out, consuming cobra venom, and facing physical ruin through divine wrath, arrows, and fire. Finally, Zophar declares that the heavens and the earth will expose the wicked man's iniquity, sealing his appointed portion and inheritance from God.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

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.”