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20:1  Then Zophar replied to Job. This is what he said:
20:2  ‘I am very upset by the things that you have said. So I must say more to answer you.
20:3  You have said things that insult me. But now I know how to reply to you.
20:4  I am sure that you know this fact. It has been true from long ago, since people first lived on the earth.
20:5  You know that a wicked person is only happy for a short time. His joy continues only for a moment.
20:6  He may think that he is more important than other people. He may be proud of the honour that he receives.
20:7  But he will disappear for ever, like dung that people throw away. His friends will ask, “Where is he?”
20:8  He will disappear like a dream that quickly goes away. Nobody can find him any more.
20:9  People who knew him will never see him again. His family will no longer recognize him.
20:10  His children will have to give things back to poor people. Those are the valuable things that he took from them.
20:11  He still had the strength of a young man. But his strength will die with him when he lies in his grave.
20:12  He enjoys the wicked things that he does. They are like something sweet in his mouth.
20:13  He continues to enjoy wicked things, like the taste of sweet food that he keeps in his mouth.
20:14  But those things will become poison that hurts him. Like bitter food that goes into his stomach.
20:15  Like a person who is sick and loses the food from his stomach, God will cause the wicked person to lose all his riches.
20:16  He will drink the poison of snakes. A dangerous snake will bite him and it will kill him.
20:17  He will never enjoy the good things that the earth provides. He will not enjoy the honey and milk which pours out like rivers of water.
20:18  He will have to give back everything that he owned. He will not enjoy the things that he has worked for.
20:19  This will happen because he has been cruel to poor people. He has refused to help them. He has taken houses for himself that do not belong to him.
20:20  He will always want to have more things for himself. He takes anything that he wants to have.
20:21  Now nothing remains for him to take. So his riches will come to an end.
20:22  When he has everything that he wants, trouble suddenly comes to him.
20:23  When he is filling himself with good food, God will punish him. God will be very angry with him. God will attack the wicked person so that he suffers.
20:24  He may escape from a soldier who has an iron sword. But then a soldier will shoot a bronze arrow into him.
20:25  He pulls the arrow out of his back. His blood makes its sharp point shine brightly. He is very afraid.
20:26  All his riches disappear in the dark. God will send a fire to destroy him. It will destroy all his things that remain.
20:27  The heavens will show that he is guilty. People on earth will speak against him.
20:28  A flood will destroy his house and everything that he has. That will happen on the day when God punishes people because he is angry with them.
20:29  That is how God punishes wicked people. God has decided to punish them as they deserve.’