New Living Translation | Christian Standard Bible |
1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: | 1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: |
2“I must reply because I am greatly disturbed. | 2This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset! |
3I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply. | 3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding makes me reply. |
4“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, | 4Don't you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, |
5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary? | 5the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? |
6Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds, | 6Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds, |
7yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’ | 7he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, "Where is he?" |
8They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night. | 8He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. |
9Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again. | 9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his household will no longer see him. |
10Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. | 10His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth. |
11Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust. | 11His frame may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in dust. |
12“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue. | 12Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, |
13They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. | 13though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth, |
14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. | 14yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras' venom inside him. |
15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down. | 15He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach. |
16They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them. | 16He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper's fangs will kill him. |
17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey. | 17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds. |
18They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy. | 18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn't enjoy the profits from his trading. |
19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes. | 19For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build. |
20They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about. | 20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not let anything he desires escape. |
21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure. | 21Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last. |
22“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery. | 22At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him. |
23May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them. | 23When he fills his stomach, God will send his burning anger against him, raining it down on him while he is eating. |
24When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them. | 24If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him. |
25The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them. | 25He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver. Terrors come over him. |
26Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left. | 26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned by human hands will consume him; it will feed on what is left in his tent. |
27The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them. | 27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. |
28A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents. | 28The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God's anger. |
29This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.” | 29This is the wicked person's lot from God, the inheritance God ordained for him. |
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. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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