English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2“Therefore my thoughts answer me, because of my haste within me.

2“I must reply because I am greatly disturbed.

3I hear censure that insults me, and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.

3I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

4Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth,

4“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth,

5that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?

5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?

6Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,

6Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds,

7he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

7yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’

8He will fly away like a dream and not be found; he will be chased away like a vision of the night.

8They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night.

9The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place any more behold him.

9Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again.

10His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth.

10Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches.

11His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in the dust.

11Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust.

12“Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue,

12“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue.

13though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth,

13They savored it, holding it long in their mouths.

14yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him.

14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach.

15He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.

15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down.

16He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him.

16They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them.

17He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.

17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.

18He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment.

18They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy.

19For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build.

19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.

20“Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.

20They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.

21There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure.

21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

22In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress; the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.

22“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.

23To fill his belly to the full, God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body.

23May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them.

24He will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike him through.

24When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.

25It is drawn forth and comes out of his body; the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder; terrors come upon him.

25The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them.

26Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not fanned will devour him; what is left in his tent will be consumed.

26Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left.

27The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

27The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them.

28The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.

28A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.

29This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God.”

29This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.