Job 20
1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is
in me.
3 I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my
understanding answereth me.
4 Knowest thou [not] this of old time, Since man was placed upon earth,
5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for
a moment?
6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds;
7 Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall
say, Where is he?
8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased
away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more
behold him.
10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back
his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue,
13 Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his
mouth;
14 Yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him.
15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will
cast them out of his belly.
16 He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper's tongue shall slay him.
17 He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter.
18 That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down;
According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
19 For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a
house, and he shall not build it up.
20 Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that
wherein he delighteth.
21 There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall
not endure.
22 In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every
one that is in misery shall come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly, [God] will cast the fierceness of his
wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
24 He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him
through.
25 He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point
cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him.
26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown [by man] shall
devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against
him.
28 The increase of his house shall depart; [His goods] shall flow away in the
day of his wrath.
29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto
him by God.