Add parallel Print Page Options

Zophar's Second Speech

Your Words Are Disturbing

20 Zophar from Naamah[a] said:
Your words are disturbing;
    now I must speak.
You have accused
    and insulted me,
    and reason requires a reply.
Since the time of creation,
    everyone has known
that sinful people are happy
    for only a while.
Though their pride and power
    may reach to the sky,
they will disappear like dust,
and those who knew them
    will wonder what happened.
(A) They will be forgotten
    like a dream
and vanish from the sight
    of family and friends.
10 Their children will have to repay
what the parents took
    from the poor.
11 Indeed, the wicked will die
and go to their graves
    in the prime of life.

Sinners Love the Taste of Sin

12 Sinners love the taste of sin;
they relish every bite
13     and swallow it slowly.
14 But their food will turn sour
    and poison their stomachs.
15 Then God will make them lose
    the wealth they gobbled up.
16 They will die from the fangs
    of poisonous snakes
17 and never enjoy rivers flowing
    with milk and honey.
18 Their hard work will result
    in nothing gained,
19 because they cheated the poor
    and took their homes.

20 Greedy people want everything
    and are never satisfied.[b]
21 But when nothing remains
for them to grab,
    they will be nothing.
22 Once they have everything,
distress and despair
    will strike them down,
23 and God will make them swallow
    his blazing anger.[c]

24 (B) While running from iron spears,
they will be killed
    by arrows of bronze,
25 whose shining tips go straight
    through their bodies.
They will be trapped by terror,
26 and what they treasure most
    will be lost in the dark.
God will send flames
to destroy them in their tents
    with all their property.
27 The heavens and the earth
    will testify against them,
28 and all their possessions
will be dragged off
    when God becomes angry.
29 This is what God has decided
    for those who are evil.

Job's Reply to Zophar

If You Want To Offer Comfort

21 Job said:
If you want to offer comfort,
    then listen to me.
And when I have finished,
you can start your insults
    all over again.
My complaint is against God;
    that's why I am impatient.
Just looking at me is enough
    to make you sick,
and the very thought of myself
    fills me with disgust.

Why do evil people live so long
    and gain such power?
Why are they allowed to see
    their children grow up?[d]
They have no worries at home,
    and God never punishes them.
10 Their cattle have lots of calves
    without ever losing one;
11 their children play and dance
    safely by themselves.
12 These people sing and celebrate
to the sound of tambourines,
    small harps, and flutes,
13 and they are successful,
without a worry,
    until the day they die.

Leave Us Alone!

14 Those who are evil say
    to God All-Powerful,
“Leave us alone! Don't bother us
    with your teachings.
15 What do we gain from praying
    and worshiping you?
16 We succeeded all on our own.”
And so, I keep away from them
    and their evil schemes.

17 How often does God become angry
and send disaster and darkness
    to punish sinners?
18 How often does he strike them
like a windstorm
    that scatters straw?

19 You say, “God will punish
those sinners' children
    in place of those sinners.”
But I say, “Let him punish
those sinners themselves
    until they really feel it.
20 Let God All-Powerful force them
to drink their own destruction
    from the cup of his anger.
21 Because after they are dead,
they won't care what happens
    to their children.”

Who Can Tell God What To Do?

22 Who can tell God what to do?
    He judges powerful rulers.
* 23 Some of us die prosperous,
24     enjoying good health,
25 while others die in poverty,
    having known only pain.
26 But we all end up dead,
    beneath a blanket of worms.

27 My friends, I know that you
    are plotting against me.
28 You ask, “Where is the home
of that important person
    who does so much evil?”

29 Everyone, near and far, agrees
30     that those who do wrong
never suffer disaster,
    when God becomes angry.
31 No one points out their sin
    or punishes them.
32 Then at their funerals,
    they are highly praised;
33 the earth welcomes them home,
    while crowds mourn.

34 But empty, meaningless words
    are the comfort you offer me.

Footnotes

  1. 20.1 Naamah: See the note at 2.11.
  2. 20.20 are never satisfied: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 20.23 anger: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 23.
  4. 21.8 up: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 8.

Bible Gateway Recommends