1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: | TOSK |
2 “So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me. | TOSK |
3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply. | TOSK |
4 Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth, | TOSK |
5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? | TOSK |
6 Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, | TOSK |
7 he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’ | TOSK |
8 He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. | TOSK |
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him. | TOSK |
10 His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth. | TOSK |
11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust. | TOSK |
12 Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, | TOSK |
13 though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, | TOSK |
14 yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him. | TOSK |
15 He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach. | TOSK |
16 He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. | TOSK |
17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. | TOSK |
18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. | TOSK |
19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. | TOSK |
20 Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. | TOSK |
21 Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. | TOSK |
22 In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him. | TOSK |
23 When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats. | TOSK |
24 Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. | TOSK |
25 It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him. | TOSK |
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. | TOSK |
27 The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. | TOSK |
28 The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath. | TOSK |
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.” | TOSK |