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Job 20

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Zophar Rebukes Job and States the Principle 1–3

1
Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, ​
2
Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me.
3
I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me. ​

The Triumph of the Wicked Is Short 4–11

4
Knowest thou notthis of old time, Since man was placed upon earth, ​
5
That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment? ​
6
Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds;
7
Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: They that have seen him shall say, Where is he? ​
8
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9
The eye which saw him shall see him no more; Neither shall his place any more behold him.
10
His children shall seek the favor of the poor, And his hands shall give back his wealth. ​
11
His bones are full of his youth, But it shall lie down with him in the dust. ​

Wickedness Turns to Poison 12–22

12
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, Though he hide it under his tongue, ​
13
Though he spare it, and will not let it go, But keep it still within his mouth;
14
Yet his food in his bowels is turned, It is the gall of asps within him.
15
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again; God will cast them out of his belly. ​
16
He shall suck the poison of asps: The viper’s tongue shall slay him.
17
He shall not look upon the rivers, The flowing streams of honey and butter. ​
18
That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
19
For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. ​
20
Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth.
21
There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
22
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. ​

God's Sudden Judgment on the Wicked 23–29

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When he is about to fill his belly, Godwill cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating. ​
24
He shall flee from the iron weapon, And the bow of brass shall strike him through.
25
He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body; Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall: Terrors are upon him.
26
All darkness is laid up for his treasures: A fire not blown by man shall devour him; It shall consume that which is left in his tent. ​
27
The heavens shall reveal his iniquity, And the earth shall rise up against him. ​
28
The increase of his house shall depart; His goodsshall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29
This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Job 20

Verse 1

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite — Zophar speaks here for the second and last time. He spoke first at 11:1, and he is not among the speakers of the third round. The three friends are named together in 2:11 and again in 42:9, where they 'did according as the LORD commanded them'.

Verse 3

the check of my reproach — 'Check' is musar, correction or discipline, the word of 12:18 ('bond'). Zophar says he has heard a rebuke aimed at him and that 'the spirit of my understanding' (ruach binah) moves him to answer. In v.2 he had said 'my thoughts cause me to answer', and the haste follows from it.

Verse 4

since man was placed upon earth — Zophar sends Job back to the beginning, as Bildad sent him to 'the former age' (8:8). 'Placed' is sum, a verb of setting down: 'there he put the man whom he had formed' (Gen 2:8). His claim is that wicked men have always fallen quickly. Job answers in 21:7.

Verse 5

the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment — 'Hypocrite' is chaneph, the godless. 'Moment' is rega, the time of a wink. The psalmist saw 'the wicked in great power' and then 'he passed away, and, lo, he was not' (Ps 37:35–36). Job answers that 'the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power' (21:7).

Verse 7

like his own dung — Gelel is dung, in the form of balls. The LORD uses a like picture of Jeroboam's house: 'as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone' (1 Kgs 14:10). 'Where is he?' (ay) is what those who saw him ask, as in Ps 37:36, 'I sought him, but he could not be found'.

Verse 10

His children shall seek to please the poor — 'Seek to please' (ratsah) also means to pay off a debt. The 'poor' (dal) are those the man took from, and 'goods' (on) is wealth. The pattern of restoring what was taken is in the law: 'four sheep for a sheep' (Exod 22:1), and Zacchaeus: 'I restore him fourfold' (Luke 19:8).

Verse 11

His bones are full of the sin of his youth — The Hebrew has only alumim, youth or vigour, and the KJV supplies 'the sin of'. It lies in his bones and goes down with him 'in the dust'. Job speaks of 'the iniquities of my youth' in 13:26, and the psalmist asks, 'Remember not the sins of my youth' (Ps 25:7). Job replies in 21:26: 'They shall lie down alike in the dust'.

Verse 12

Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth — Mathaq is to taste sweet, and 'hide' (kachad) is to keep out of sight under the tongue, where 'mischief and vanity' lie (Ps 10:7). The sweetness is brief: 'Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant' (Prov 9:17). In v.14 the food turns in his bowels to 'the gall of asps'.

Verse 15

he shall vomit them up again — Bala is to gulp down, and 'riches' (chayil) can also mean strength or an army. The same verb for vomiting is used of the land in Lev 18:25: 'the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants'. 'God shall cast them out of his belly' says that what he took he cannot keep.

Verse 17

the rivers… of honey and butter — Three words for streams (pelaggah, channel; nahar, river; nachal, brook) give the picture of plenty. Honey and butter are among the land's gifts in Deut 32:13–14. Job described his own former days in like terms: 'the rock poured me out rivers of oil' (29:6).

Verse 19

he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor — 'Oppressed' is ratsats, to crush, and 'taken away' is gazal, to rob. 'He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker' (Prov 14:31). The 'house which he builded not' is what he seized: Isaiah pronounces woe on those 'that join house to house' (Isa 5:8).

Verse 22

In the fulness of his sufficiency — Sepheq is satiety or enough. At the point of having enough, he is 'in straits', the verb yatsar of 18:7 ('straitened'). In the parable the rich man who had stored his goods is told, 'Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee' (Luke 12:20).

Verse 23

shall rain it upon him while he is eating — 'Rain' is matar, the verb of Ps 11:6, 'Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone'. Israel in the wilderness met this at a meal: 'while the flesh was yet between their teeth… the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people' (Num 11:33).

Verse 26

a fire not blown — Fire that no one kindles, like 'the fire of God' that fell 'from heaven' on Job's sheep (1:16). 'Hid in his secret places' is tsaphan, to treasure up. 'Left' is sarid, a survivor, the word of 18:19 ('remaining').

Verse 27

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity — Galah is to uncover. Heaven and earth are called as witnesses elsewhere: Moses calls 'heaven and earth to record against them' (Deut 31:28), and 'the earth also shall disclose her blood' (Isa 26:21). Job had asked, 'O earth, cover not thou my blood' (16:18).

Verse 29

the heritage appointed unto him by God — 'Portion' is cheleq and 'heritage' is nachalah, the words for an allotted share of land. 'Appointed' is emer, what God has said, so the heritage is literally 'of his word'. Job repeats the line as his own in 27:13: 'This is the portion of a wicked man with God'.