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Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked

Verse1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

Verse2“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.

Verse3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.

Verse4Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,

Verse5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?

Verse6Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,

Verse7he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’

Verse8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

Verse9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.

Verse10His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.

Verse11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.

Verse12Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,

Verse13though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,

Verse14yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

Verse15He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.

Verse16He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.

Verse17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

Verse18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.

Verse19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.

Verse20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.

Verse21Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.

Verse22In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.

Verse23When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

Verse24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.

Verse25It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.

Verse26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

Verse27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

Verse28The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.

Verse29This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”