Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me,
{Or, And by reason of this my haste is within me}Even by reason of my haste that is in me.
I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame;
{Or, But out of my understanding my spirit answereth me}And the spirit of my understanding answereth me.
Knowest thou not this of old time,
Since man was placed upon earth,
That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless but for a moment?
Though his height mount up to the heavens,
And his head reach unto the clouds;
Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung:
They that have seen him shall say, Where is he?
He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found:
Yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.
The eye which saw him shall see him no more;
Neither shall his place any more behold him.
{Or, as otherwise read, The poor shall oppress his children}His children shall seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands shall give back his wealth.
His bones are full of his youth,
But it shall lie down with him in the dust.
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth,
Though he hide it under his tongue,
Though he spare it, and will not let it go,
But keep it still within his mouth;
Yet his food in his bowels is turned,
It is the gall of asps within him.
He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again;
God will cast them out of his belly.
He shall suck the poison of asps:
The viper's tongue shall slay him.
He shall not look upon the rivers,
The flowing streams of honey and butter.
That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down;
According to the substance {Hebrew: of his exchange.}that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.
For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor;
He hath violently taken away a house, {Or, which he builded not}and he shall not build it up.
Because he knew no quietness {Or, in his greed Hebrew: in his belly.}within him,
He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth.
There was nothing left that he devoured not;
Therefore his prosperity shall not endure.
In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits:
The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.
{Or, Let it be for the filling of his belly that God shall cast &c.}When he is about to fill his belly,
God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him,
And will rain it upon him {Or, as his food}while he is eating.
He shall flee from the iron weapon,
And the bow of brass shall strike him through.
He draweth it forth, and it cometh out of his body;
Yea, the glittering point cometh out of his gall:
Terrors are upon him.
All darkness is laid up for his treasures:
A fire not blown by man shall devour him;
{Or, It shall go ill with him that is left}It shall consume that which is left in his tent.
The heavens shall reveal his iniquity,
And the earth shall rise up against him.
The increase of his house shall depart;
His goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath.
This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the heritage appointed unto him by God.
Querverweise zu Hiob 20,5 Hiob 20,5
I have seen the foolish taking root:But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Behold, this is the joy of his way;And out of the {Or, dust}earth shall others spring.
He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue,Neither shall {Or, their produce bend to the earth}their possessions be extended on the earth.
He shall not depart out of darkness;The flame shall dry up his branches,And by the breath of {Hebrew: his.}God's mouth shall he go away.
Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself;For vanity shall be his recompense.
It shall be {Or, paid in full.}accomplished before his time,And his branch shall not be green.
He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine,And shall cast off his flower as the olive-tree.
For the company of the godless shall be barren,And fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
For what is the hope of the godless, {Or, when God cutteth him off, When he taketh &c.}though he get him gain,When God taketh away his soul?
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,And the {Or, flame}spark of his fire shall not shine.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
The light shall be dark in his tent,And his lamp {Or, beside}above him shall be put out.
And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it;
This is the portion of a wicked man with God,And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty:
If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword;And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
Those that remain of him shall be buried in death,And his widows shall make no lamentation.
Though he heap up silver as the dust,And prepare raiment as the clay;
He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on,And the innocent shall divide the silver.
He buildeth his house as the moth,And as a booth which the keeper maketh.
He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers;He openeth his eyes, and he is not.
Terrors overtake him like waters;A tempest stealeth him away in the night.
The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth;And it sweepeth him out of his place.
For God shall hurl at him, and not spare:He would fain flee out of his hand.
Men shall clap their hands at him,And shall hiss him out of his place.
yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth.
The enemy said,I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;My desire shall be satisfied upon them;I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
But let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of {Greek: the other. See Romans 13:8.}his neighbor.
Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them:They sank as lead in the mighty waters.
But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil.
And the Philistines laid hold on him, and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars:
and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may {Or, be avenged…for one of my two eyes}be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life.
And Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow also am I invited by her together with the king.
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
I have seen the wicked in great power,And spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
{Or, Yet he passed away}But one passed by, and, lo, he was not:Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Surely thou settest them in slippery places:Thou castest them down to {Hebrew: ruins.}destruction.
How are they become a desolation in a moment!They are utterly consumed with terrors.
As a dream when one awaketh,So, O Lord, {Or, in the city}when thou awakest, thou wilt despise their image.
And the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man.
And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.