Job 20

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,

1Then Zophar from Naamah spoke. He was one of Job's three friends.

2Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

2"My thoughts push me to answer you. I am upset inside, so I hurry to speak."

3I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.

3"I heard you scold me, and it stung. My own understanding makes me answer back."

4Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

4"Don't you know how things have always been? Since the first people lived on earth,"

5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

5"bad people cheer for only a short time. A person who fakes being good is happy for only a moment."

6Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;

6"A proud man may seem to rise as high as the sky. His head may seem to touch the clouds."

7Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

7"But he will be gone forever, like waste thrown away. People who knew him will ask, 'Where is he?'"

8He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

8"He will fly away like a dream, and no one will find him. He will vanish like something seen at night."

9The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.

9"The eyes that once saw him will not see him again. The place where he lived will not see him either."

10His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.

10"His children will have to beg poor people for help. He must give back the money he took."

11His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.

11"His bones were once full of young, strong life. Now that strength lies down with him in the dirt."

NoteThe KJV says his bones are "full of the sin of his youth." The Hebrew word means the strength a young person has. Zophar is saying that strength dies with him.

12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;

12"Doing wrong tasted sweet in his mouth. He hid it under his tongue like candy."

13Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:

13"He could not bear to let it go. He kept it in his mouth."

14Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

14"But in his stomach the food turned sour. Inside him it became like snake poison."

Note"Meat" in the KJV means food of any kind, not just meat from animals. The same is true in verse 21.

15He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

15"He swallowed riches, but he will throw them up again. God will make his stomach give them back."

16He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

16"He drank the poison of snakes. A snake's sharp bite will kill him."

17He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

17"He will never enjoy the streams. He will not see rivers of honey and cream."

18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

18"He must give back everything he worked for. He does not get to enjoy it. The more he gained, the more he must return."

19Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

19"He was cruel to poor people and left them with nothing. He grabbed houses that he did not build."

20Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

20"He always wanted more and was never full. So he cannot keep the things he wanted."

21There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

21"Nothing will be left for him to eat. His good times will not last."

22In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

22"Even when he has plenty, trouble will come. Great pain will fall on him."

23When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

23"Just as he fills his stomach, God will send his anger. It will pour down on him while he eats."

24He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

24"He may run away from an iron weapon. But an arrow will go right through him."

NoteThe KJV says "bow of steel." People did not have steel back then. The weapon was an arrow tipped with bronze.

25It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

25"The arrow is pulled out of his back. Its shiny point comes out too. Fear fills him."

26All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

26"Deep darkness is waiting for the treasure he hid. A fire that no one lit will burn him up. It will eat what is left in his tent."

Note"Tabernacle" here just means a tent, the place where a person lives.

27The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

27"The heavens above will show what he did wrong. The earth will stand up against him."

28The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

28"Everything in his house will be carried off. His goods will wash away on the day God is angry."

29This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

29"This is what God gives a wicked man. This is what God has set aside for him."