1 Zophar of Naamath spoke next:
2 My troubled thoughts move me to reply for I have been feeling impatient.
3 I hear a rebuke which puts me to shame, and I am inspired to give an answer.
4 You know how it has been from of old, since man was placed on earth,
5 that the triumph of the wicked is short and the joy of the godless is but a moment.
6 Though his pride reach to the heavens and his head touch the clouds,
7 he vanishes like a phantom; those who have seen him ask where he is.
8 Like a dream he takes flight, like a vision of the night.
9 The eye that met him sees him no more; neither shall his dwelling shelter him again.
10 His children must make amends to his victims; his own hands must pay back his riches.
11 His youthful frame that was full of vigor shall at last lie with him in the dust.
12 E vil was sweet in his mouth, and he hid it under his tongue,
13 He liked it and did not let it go and still kept it within his mouth,
14 yet his food turns sour and becomes venom in his stomach.
15 He vomits the riches he swallowed; God compels his belly to belch it out.
16 Because he sucked the poison of a viper, he will be killed by the fangs of an adder.
17 He will no longer see the streams of oil, no rivers of honey and milk.
18 He gives back the fruit of his toil: he could not swallow it.
19 For he has oppressed the poor and seized houses instead of building them.
20 For his greed had no limit, and no one could escape his appetite;
21 he devoured them, one and all. This is why his prosperity will not endure.
22 In the midst of plenty, distress seizes him, the full force of misery falls upon him.
23 When his belly is filled God unloads his wrath upon him and pelts him with his arrows.
24 While he flees from an iron weapon, the bronze bow strikes him down.
25 A dart sticks in his back, in his liver an arrow. He is in the grip of a terrible fear;
26 total darkness has been stored for him, a fire which he did not kindle devours him and consumes whatever was left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him.
28 A flood will sweep away his house, the waters of God's wrath.
29 Such is the fate of the wicked - their lot which comes from God.
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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