New International Version | New Living Translation |
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: | 1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: |
2"My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. | 2“I must reply because I am greatly disturbed. |
3I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply. | 3I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply. |
4"Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth, | 4“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, |
5that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. | 5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary? |
6Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches 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?’ |
8Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished 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 not see him again; his place will look on him no more. | 9Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again. |
10His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth. | 10Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. |
11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. | 11Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust. |
12"Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, | 12“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue. |
13though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth, | 13They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. |
14yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. | 14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. |
15He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. | 15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down. |
16He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. | 16They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them. |
17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. | 17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey. |
18What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. | 18They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy. |
19For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. | 19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes. |
20"Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. | 20They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about. |
21Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. | 21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure. |
22In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him. | 22“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery. |
23When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him. | 23May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them. |
24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. | 24When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them. |
25He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him; | 25The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them. |
26total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. | 26Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left. |
27The heavens will expose his guilt; the earth will rise up against him. | 27The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them. |
28A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God's wrath. | 28A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents. |
29Such is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God." | 29This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.” |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | 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. |
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