Job 20:1-29 NIrV

[1] Then Zophar the Naamathite replied, [2] “My troubled thoughts force me to answer you. That’s because I’m very upset. [3] What you have just said dishonors me. So I really have to reply to you. [4] “I’m sure you must know how things have always been. They’ve been that way ever since human beings were placed on this earth. [5] Those who are evil are happy for only a short time. The joy of ungodly people lasts only for a moment. [6] Their pride might reach all the way up to the heavens. Their heads might touch the clouds. [7] But they will disappear forever, like the waste from their own bodies. Anyone who has seen them will say, ‘Where did they go?’ [8] Like a dream they will fly away. They will never be seen again. They will be driven away like visions in the night. [9] The eyes that saw them won’t see them anymore. Even their own families won’t remember them. [10] Their children must pay back what they took from poor people. Their own hands must give back the wealth they stole. [11] They might feel young and very strong. But they will soon lie down in the dust of their graves. [12] “Anything that is evil tastes sweet to them. They keep it under their tongues for a while. [13] They can’t stand to let it go. So they hold it in their mouths. [14] But their food will turn sour in their stomachs. It will become like the poison of a serpent inside them. [15] They will spit out the rich food they swallowed. God will make their stomachs throw it up. [16] They will suck the poison of a serpent. The fangs of an adder will kill them. [17] They won’t enjoy streams that flow with honey. They won’t enjoy rivers that flow with cream. [18] What they worked for they must give back before they can eat it. They won’t enjoy what they have earned. [19] They’ve crushed poor people and left them with nothing. They’ve taken over houses they didn’t even build. [20] “No matter how much they have, they always long for more. But their treasure can’t save them. [21] There isn’t anything left for them to eat up. Their success won’t last. [22] While they are enjoying the good life, trouble will catch up with them. Terrible suffering will come on them. [23] When they’ve filled their stomachs, God will pour out his great anger on them. He’ll strike them down with blow after blow. [24] They might run away from iron weapons. But arrows that have bronze tips will wound them. [25] They will pull the arrows out of their backs. They will remove the shining tips from their livers. They will be filled with terror. [26] Total darkness hides and waits for their treasures. God will send a fire that will destroy them. It will burn up everything that’s left in their tents. [27] Heaven will show their guilt to everyone. The earth will be a witness against them. [28] A flood will carry their houses away. Rushing water will wash them away on the day when God judges. [29] Now you know what God will do to sinful people. Now you know what he has planned for them.”