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20:1  Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
20:2  “The words you have spoken have caused me great distress, and as a result, I am forced to reply.
20:3  I have been outraged by your censure, but now a spirit beyond my understanding provides me with the answers to rebuke you.
20:4  “Surely you must know that since time began and man was first placed on the earth,
20:5  the triumph of the wicked has always been short-lived, and the joy of the sinner lasts only for a moment.
20:6  Even though in his pride he towers to the sky and his head touches the clouds,
20:7  he is destined to perish forever like his own dung, and those who used to see him will ask: ‘Where is he?’
20:8  He will fade away like a dream and never be found again; he will vanish like a vision of the night.
20:9  The eyes that saw him will see him no more, and his dwelling will not behold him any longer.
20:10  “His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will be forced to return his wealth.
20:11  The youthful vigor that once filled his body will be stagnant with him in the earth.
20:12  “Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
20:13  though he continues to keep it in his mouth and is loath to let it go,
20:14  yet such food will turn sour in his stomach, working inside him like the venom of asps.
20:15  He wolfs down riches and then vomits them up; God forces him to disgorge them from his stomach.
20:16  “Such a person will suck the venom of asps; the tongue of a viper will slay him.
20:17  He will see no streams of oil or rivers flowing with honey and cream.
20:18  He will be forced to restore his gains without enjoying them; even though his wealth increased, he will derive no enjoyment.
20:19  For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute, seizing houses that he did not build.
20:20  “Since his avarice could never be satisfied, no amount of hoarding will save him.
20:21  Since his greed was insatiable, his prosperity will not endure.
20:22  When he possesses everything he desires, his troubles will begin, and the full force of misery will strike him down.
20:23  “God will unleash the fury of his wrath against him and rain down upon him a hail of arrows.
20:24  If he escapes a weapon of iron, a bow of bronze will pierce him through.
20:25  The tip of the arrow will protrude from his body and the glittering point will emerge from his bladder; terrors will descend upon him.
20:26  “Unrelieved darkness is what awaits him; a fire that does not need to be fanned will devour him, and anything left in his tent will be consumed.
20:27  The heavens will lay bare his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
20:28  Flood waters will sweep away his house like the torrents on the day of God’s wrath.
20:29  This is the lot that God reserves for the wicked, the heritage assigned to him by God.”