1 Zophar of Naamath spoke next. He said:
2 My thoughts urge me to reply to this, and hence the impatience that grips me.
3 I have put up with prating that outrages me and now my mind inspires me with an answer.
4 Do you not know, that since time began and human beings were set on the earth,
5 the triumph of the wicked has always been brief, and the sinner's gladness has never lasted long?
6 Towering to the sky he may have been, his head touching the clouds;
7 but he vanishes, like a phantom, once for all, while those who used to see him, ask, 'Where is he?'
8 Like a dream that leaves no trace he takes his flight, like a vision in the night he flies away.
9 The eye accustomed to see him sees him no more, his home will never set eyes on him again.
10 His sons will have to reimburse the poor and his children pay back his riches.
11 His bones used to be full of youthful vigour: and there it lies, in the dust with him, now!
12 Evil was sweet to his mouth, he would shelter it under his tongue;
13 cultivating it carefully, he would let it linger on his palate.
14 Such food goes bad in his belly, working inside him like the poison of a viper.
15 Now he has to vomit up the wealth that he has swallowed, God makes him disgorge it.
16 He used to suck vipers' venom, and the tongue of the adder kills him.
17 No more will he know the streams of oil or the torrents of honey and cream.
18 When he gives back his winnings, his cheerfulness will fade, and the satisfied air he had when business was thriving.
19 Since he once destroyed the huts of the poor, plundering houses instead of building them up,
20 since his avarice could never be satisfied, now all his hoarding will not save him;
21 since nothing could escape his greed, his prosperity will not last.
22 When he has everything he needs, want will seize him, and misery will light on him with all its force.
23 On him God looses all his burning wrath, hurling against his flesh a hail of arrows.
24 If he escapes the weapons of iron, the bow of bronze will transfix him.
25 Out of his back sticks an arrow, from his gall a shining point. The terrors advance on him,
26 all the hidden darknesses are waiting to carry him off. A fire unlit by human hand devours him, and consumes what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens lay bare his iniquity, and the earth rises up against him.
28 The income of his house pours away, like the torrents, on the day of retribution.
29 Such is the fate God reserves for the wicked, the inheritance he assigns to the accursed!
Versículos relacionados com Job, 20:
Job 20 presents a speech by Zofar, Job's third friend, who tries to convince him to recognize God's righteousness in his afflictions and confess his sins. Zofar makes a vivid description of the fate of the wicked, arguing that divine punishment always falls on them. The following verses address themes similar to those treated by Zofar:
Proverbs 10:27: "The fear of the Lord extends the days, but the life of the wicked is abbreviated." This verse talks about the fate of the wicked, which according to Zofar in Job 20, is marked by suffering and premature death.
Psalm 37:35-36: "I saw a arrogant wicked and spreading as a leafy tree on native soil. But it passed and no longer exists; I looked for it, but could not be found." This psalm also talks about the fate of the wicked, which is compared to a dry and died tree.
Proverbs 1:33: "But anyone who hears me will live safely and will be quiet, without fear of any evil." This verse highlights the importance of listening to divine wisdom, which Zofar believes Job is rejecting.
Psalm 11:6: "He will make it rain over the wicked embers and an incandescent sulfur; a dry wind will be their share." This psalm also talks about the fate of the wicked, which is described as a rain of fire and sulfur, similar to Zofar's description in Job 20.
Proverbs 13:9: "The light of the righteous shines intensely, but the lamp of the wicked goes out." This verse highlights the difference between the righteous and the wicked, reinforcing the idea that divine punishment always falls on seconds.
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