Study Desk

Then Zophar the Naamathite^(a) replied:

This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset!^[a]

I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding^[b] makes me reply.^(b)

Don't you know that ever since antiquity, from the time man was placed on earth,

the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?^(c)

Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds,^(d)

he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know^[c] him will ask, "Where is he?"^(e)

He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.^(f)

The eye that saw him will see him no more,^(g) and his household will no longer see him.^(h)

His children will beg from^[d] the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth.

His bones may be full of youthful vigor, but will lie down with him in the grave.⁽ⁱ⁾

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

though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth,^(j)

yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras' venom inside him.

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach.

He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper's fangs^[e] will kill him.^(k)

He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.^(l)

He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn't enjoy the profits from his trading.

For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.^(m)

Because his appetite is never satisfied,^[f] he does not let anything he desires escape.

Nothing is left for him to consume;⁽ⁿ⁾ therefore, his prosperity will not last.

At the height of his success^[g] distress will come to him;^(o) the full weight of misery^[h] will crush him.

When he fills his stomach, God will send His burning anger against him, raining^(p) it down on him while he is eating.^[i]

If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.

He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver.^[j] Terrors come over him.^(q)

Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned by human hands will consume^(r) him; it will feed on what is left in his tent.

The heavens will expose his iniquity,^(s) and the earth will rise up against him.^(t)

The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God's anger.

This is the wicked man's lot^(u) from God, the inheritance God ordained for him.

Then Job answered:

Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.

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

As for me, is my complaint^(a) against a man? Then why shouldn't I be impatient?

Look at me and shudder;^(b) put your hand over your mouth.^(c)

When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles^(d) in horror.

Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?

Their children are established while they are still alive,^[a] and their descendants, before their eyes.

Their homes are secure and free of fear;^(e) no rod from God strikes them.^(f)

Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,

singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.^(g)

They spend^[b] their days in prosperity^(h) and go down to Sheol in peace.

Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone! We don't want to know Your ways.⁽ⁱ⁾

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?"^(j)

But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!^(k)

How often is the lamp^(l) of the wicked put out? Does disaster^[c] come on them? Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff^(m) a storm sweeps away?

God reserves a person's punishment for his children.⁽ⁿ⁾ Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.

Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath!^(o)

For what does he care about his family once he is dead,^(p) when the number of his months has run out?^(q)

Can anyone teach God knowledge,^(r) since He judges the exalted ones?^[d]

One person dies in excellent health,^[e] completely secure^[f] and at ease.

His body is^[g] well fed,^[h] and his bones are full of marrow.^[i]

Yet another person dies with a bitter^(s) soul, having never tasted prosperity.

But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.^(t)

I know your thoughts very well, the schemes you would wrong me with.

For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents^(u) the wicked lived in?"

Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports?^[j]

Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.

Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay^(v) him for what he has done?

He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb.

The dirt on his grave is^[k] sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.

So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.