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20:1  Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,
20:2  “Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond, Even because of my inward agitation.
20:3  I listened to the reprimand which insults me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.
20:4  Do you know this from ancient times, From the establishment of mankind on earth,
20:5  That the rejoicing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless momentary?
20:6  Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, And his head touches the clouds,
20:7  He perishes forever like his refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
20:8  He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him; Like a vision of the night he is chased away.
20:9  The eye which saw him sees him no longer, And his place no longer beholds him.
20:10  His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth.
20:11  His bones are full of his youthful strength, But it lies down with him in the dust.
20:12  “Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth And he hides it under his tongue,
20:13  Though he desires it and will not let it go, But holds it in his mouth,
20:14  Yet his food in his stomach is changed To the venom of cobras within him.
20:15  He swallows riches, But will vomit them up; God will expel them from his belly.
20:16  He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue kills him.
20:17  He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.
20:18  He returns the product of his labor And cannot swallow it; As to the riches of his trading, He cannot even enjoy them.
20:19  For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built.
20:20  “Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires.
20:21  Nothing remains for him to devour, Therefore his prosperity does not endure.
20:22  In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped; The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.
20:23  When he fills his belly, God will send His fierce anger on him And rain it on him while he is eating.
20:24  He may flee from the iron weapon, But the bronze bow will pierce him.
20:25  It is drawn and comes out of his back, Even the flashing point from his gallbladder; Terrors come upon him,
20:26  Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures, And unfanned fire will devour him; It will consume the survivor in his tent.
20:27  The heavens will reveal his guilt, And the earth will rise up against him.
20:28  The increase of his house will disappear; His possessions will flow away on the day of His anger.
20:29  This is a wicked person’s portion from God, The inheritance decreed to him by God.”