Job 20-23

Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man

20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

² “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
³ I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴ “Do you not know this of old,
Since man was placed on earth,
⁵ That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
⁶ Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
⁷ Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
¹⁷ He will not see the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰ “Because he knows no quietness in his heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
²² In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of misery will come against him.
²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
²⁴ He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
²⁵ It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors come upon him;
²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
²⁹ This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”

Job’s Discourse on the Wicked

21 Then Job answered and said:

² “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your consolation.
³ Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep mocking.

⁴ “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be astonished;
Put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
⁷ Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?
⁸ Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves without miscarriage.
¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
¹² They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
¹³ They spend their days in wealth,
And in a moment go down to the grave.
¹⁴ Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
¹⁶ Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God distributes in His anger?
¹⁸ They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm carries away.
¹⁹ They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
²⁰ Let his eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?

²² “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
²³ One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
²⁴ His pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
²⁵ Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
²⁶ They lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.

²⁷ “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
²⁸ For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
²⁹ Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
³⁰ For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
³¹ Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
³² Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
³³ The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
³⁴ How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since falsehood remains in your answers?”

Eliphaz Accuses Job of Wickedness

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

² “Can a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴ “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?
⁶ For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.
⁸ But the mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
⁹ You have sent widows away empty,
And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
¹¹ Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ And you say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
¹⁴ Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
¹⁶ Who were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
¹⁷ They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to them?’
¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹ “The righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
²⁰ ‘Surely our adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹ “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive, please, instruction from His mouth,
And lay up His words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
²⁴ Then you will lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
²⁵ Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
And your precious silver;
²⁶ For then you will have your delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
²⁸ You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then He will save the humble person.
³⁰ He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

Job Proclaims God’s Righteous Judgments

23 Then Job answered and said:

² “Even today my complaint is bitter;
My hand is listless because of my groaning.
³ Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
⁴ I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
⁶ Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
⁷ There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸ “Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
⁹ When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
¹⁰ But He knows the way that I take;
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
¹¹ My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food.

¹³ “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever His soul desires, that He does.
¹⁴ For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
¹⁶ For God made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
¹⁷ Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.