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Job 20
Evangelical Heritage Version
Job 20
Evangelical Heritage Version
Round Two: Zophar’s Speech
20 Then Zophar the Na’amathite responded:
2 This is why my troubled thoughts make me respond again,
and why my thoughts are racing through my mind:
3 I heard a rebuke that insults me,
so my spirit prompts me to respond with understanding.
4 Don’t you know this?
From ancient times,
from the time when Adam[a] was placed on the earth,
5 the triumphant cry of the wicked has been short-lived,
and the joy of the godless lasts only a moment.
6 Although his arrogance reaches up to the skies,
and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will perish forever like his own filth.
Those who saw him will say, “Where is he?”
8 Like a dream, he flies away, and he cannot be found.
Like a vision during the night, he flutters away.
9 An eye catches sight of him, but it does not see him again.
His place will no longer look at him.
10 His children must make restitution to[b] the poor.
His hands must give back his wealth.
11 His bones were once filled with youthful vigor,
but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.
12 If evil tastes sweet in his mouth,
and he tucks it under his tongue,
13 if he hoards it for himself,
and he does not let it go,
but savors it on his palate,
14 his food will turn into cobra venom in his stomach.
15 He swallowed wealth, but he vomits it up.
God makes him expel it from his belly.
16 He sucks the poison of cobras.
The fangs of a viper kill him.
17 He will not see the streams,
the rivers that flow with honey and cream.
18 Without digesting it, he gives up the produce for which he labored.
He does not enjoy the wealth for which he traded,
19 because he has crushed and abandoned the poor,
and he has stolen a house he did not build.
20 His stomach is never filled.
He cannot satisfy his desires,
21 because now there is nothing left for him to eat,
so his prosperity will not endure.
22 Even when he has plenty,
distress catches up with him,
and misery grabs hold of him.
23 While he is filling his belly,
God will send burning anger upon him,
and it will rain down on his body.[c]
24 He flees from iron weapons,
but he is pierced by a bronze arrow.
25 He pulls the arrow out of his back,
and the shiny point comes out of his liver.
Terrors come over him.
26 Complete darkness is lying in wait for his hidden treasures.
A fire that needs no fanning will consume him.
It will destroy anything that survives in his tent.
27 The heavens will uncover his guilt,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 A flood will carry away his house,
sweeping away his possessions on the day of God’s wrath.
29 This is God’s sentence on the evil man.
This is his heritage decreed by God.
Job 20
New International Version
Job 20
New International Version
Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite(A) replied:
2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.(B)
3 I hear a rebuke(C) that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.
4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,(D)
ever since mankind[a] was placed on the earth,
5 that the mirth of the wicked(E) is brief,
the joy of the godless(F) lasts but a moment.(G)
6 Though the pride(H) of the godless person reaches to the heavens(I)
and his head touches the clouds,(J)
7 he will perish forever,(K) like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’(L)
8 Like a dream(M) he flies away,(N) no more to be found,
banished(O) like a vision of the night.(P)
9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.(Q)
10 His children(R) must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.(S)
11 The youthful vigor(T) that fills his bones(U)
will lie with him in the dust.(V)
12 “Though evil(W) is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,(X)
13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and lets it linger in his mouth,(Y)
14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;(Z)
it will become the venom of serpents(AA) within him.
15 He will spit out the riches(AB) he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit(AC) them up.
16 He will suck the poison(AD) of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.(AE)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers(AF) flowing with honey(AG) and cream.(AH)
18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;(AI)
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.(AJ)
19 For he has oppressed the poor(AK) and left them destitute;(AL)
he has seized houses(AM) he did not build.
20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;(AN)
he cannot save himself by his treasure.(AO)
21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.(AP)
22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;(AQ)
the full force of misery will come upon him.(AR)
23 When he has filled his belly,(AS)
God will vent his burning anger(AT) against him
and rain down his blows on him.(AU)
24 Though he flees(AV) from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.(AW)
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors(AX) will come over him;(AY)
26 total darkness(AZ) lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire(BA) unfanned will consume him(BB)
and devour what is left in his tent.(BC)
27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.(BD)
28 A flood will carry off his house,(BE)
rushing waters[b] on the day of God’s wrath.(BF)
29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”(BG)
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.