Zophar: Destruction Awaits the Wicked 1 WBS Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said, BSB BSB: Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 WBS Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste. BSB BSB: “So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.
3 WBS I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer. BSB BSB: I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.
4 WBS Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, BSB BSB: Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,
5 WBS That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment? BSB BSB: the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
6 WBS Though his excellence shall mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds; BSB BSB: Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
7 WBS Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they who have seen him shall say, Where is he?BSB BSB: he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’
8 WBS He shall fly away as a dream, and will not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night. BSB BSB: He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 WBS The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him. BSB BSB: The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.
10 WBS His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods. BSB BSB: His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
11 WBS His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. BSB BSB: The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
12 WBS Though wickedness may be sweet in his mouth, though he may hide it under his tongue; BSB BSB: Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 WBS Though he may spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:BSB BSB: though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,
14 WBS Yet his food in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.BSB BSB: yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.
15 WBS He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly. BSB BSB: He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.
16 WBS He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him. BSB BSB: He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.
17 WBS He shall not see the river, the floods, the brooks of honey and buttermilk. BSB BSB: He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 WBS That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it : according to his substance shall the restitution be , and he shall not rejoice in it . BSB BSB: He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
19 WBS Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away a house which he did not build. BSB BSB: For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
20 WBS Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired. BSB BSB: Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.
21 WBS There shall none of his food be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods. BSB BSB: Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.
22 WBS In the fullness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him. BSB BSB: In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
23 WBS When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.BSB BSB: When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
24 WBS He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through. BSB BSB: Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
25 WBS It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yes, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him. BSB BSB: It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him.
26 WBS All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle. BSB BSB: Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
27 WBS The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. BSB BSB: The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
28 WBS The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. BSB BSB: The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
29 WBS This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God. BSB BSB: This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”
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