Job20
King James Version · Public Domain
1Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.
3I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.
4Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,
5That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
6Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach unto the clouds;
7Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?
8He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
9The eye also which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place any more behold him.
10His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
11His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust.
12Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;
13Though he spare it, and forsake it not; but keep it still within his mouth:
14Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.
15He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.
16He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.
17He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
18That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
19Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
20Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
21There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.
22In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.
23When 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.
24He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
25It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
26All 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.
27The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
28The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
29This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Job 20.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Zophar speaks of the short joy of the wicked. (1–9). The ruin of the wicked. (10–22). The portion of the wicked. (23–29).
vv1-9
Zophar's discourse is upon the certain misery of the wicked. The triumph of the wicked and the joy of the hypocrite are fleeting. The pleasures and gains of sin bring disease and pain; they end in remorse, anguish, and ruin. Dissembled piety is double iniquity, and the ruin that attends it will be accordingly.
vv10-22
The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his heart upon these. Also violence and injustice, these sins bring God's judgments upon nations and families. Observe the punishment of the wicked man for these things. Sin is turned into gall, than which nothing is more bitter; it will prove to him poison; so will all unlawful gains be. In his fulness he shall be in straits, through the anxieties of his own mind. To be led by the sanctifying grace of God to restore what was unjustly gotten, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy. But to be forced to restore by the horrors of a despairing conscience, as Judas was, has no benefit and comfort attending it.
vv23-29
Zophar, having described the vexations which attend wicked practices, shows their ruin from God's wrath. There is no fence against this, but in Christ, who is the only Covert from the storm and tempest, Isa 32:2. Zophar concludes, “This is the portion of a wicked man from God;” it is allotted him. Never was any doctrine better explained, or worse applied, than this by Zophar, who intended to prove Job a hypocrite. Let us receive the good explanation, and make a better application, for warning to ourselves, to stand in awe and sin not. One view of Jesus, directed by the Holy Spirit, and by him suitably impressed upon our souls, will quell a thousand carnal reasonings about the suffering of the faithful.
Key Words
צוֹפַר: Tsophar, a friend of Job
נַעֲמָתִי: a Naamathite, or inhabitant of Naamah
עָנָה: properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication, to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
כֵּן: properly, set upright; hence (figuratively as adjective) just; but usually (as adverb or conjunction) rightly or so (in various applications to manner, time and relation; often with other particles)
סָעִף: divided (in mind), i.e. (abstractly) a sentiment
שׁוּב: to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again
חוּשׁ: to hurry; figuratively, to be eager with excitement or enjoyment
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
מוּסָר: properly, chastisement; figuratively, reproof, warning or instruction; also restraint
Cross References
Job 20The comparison of the fleeting, unsubstantial life of the wicked to a dream that vanishes.
Supported by JFB
Uses the exact vulgar imagery of dung to describe the total, shameful sweeping away of a wicked house.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The carcass of Jezebel compared to dung on the ground, emphasizing extreme degradation.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the concept of sweet-tasting sin that ultimately turns into gravel or poison in the bowels.
Supported by JFB
Contrast's Job's former prosperity (washing steps with butter) with the wicked's deprivation of rivers of honey.
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Parallels the proud mounting up to heaven, echoing the self-exaltation of the king of Babylon.
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Exaltation among the clouds and stars brought low by God's severe judgment.
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Parallels the wicked becoming as dung upon the earth under God's swift judgment.
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Echoes the precise phrasing that a person's place shall know or behold him no more.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct conceptual link to the 'sins of my youth' which carry heavy consequences.
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Oppressing the poor and violently taking away their houses to build one's own.
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Underlies the description of God's whetted, glittering sword executing judgment.
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Illustrates the severe requirement of restitution for stolen goods and unjust gain.
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Condemnation of those who covet and violently seize houses, leaving others without shelter.
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Parallels the imagery of God raining down fury and fire as the portion of the wicked.
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