Job 20:1-29 BSB

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