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 20,14 Hiob 20,14
And it came to pass at eventide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her (for she was purified from her uncleanness); and she returned unto her house.
And the woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
He shall suck the poison of asps:The viper's tongue shall slay him.
Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with {Hebrew: burning coals. See Habakkuk 3:5.}burning heatAnd bitter destruction;And the teeth of beasts will I send upon them,With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house; and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
{Psalm 5:9}Their throat is an open sepulchre;With their tongues they have used deceit: {Psalm 140:3}The poison of asps is under their lips:
When I kept silence, my bones wasted awayThrough my {Hebrew: roaring.}groaning all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:My moisture was changed {Or, into the}as with the drought of summer. [Selah
A Psalm of David, {Or, to make memorial}to bring to remembrance.O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath;Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
For thine arrows {Hebrew: lighted on me.}stick fast in me,And thy hand {}presseth me sore.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation;Neither is there any {Or, rest}health in my bones because of my sin.
For mine iniquities are gone over my head:As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds are loathsome and corrupt,Because of my foolishness.
I am {Hebrew: bent.}pained and bowed down greatly;I go mourning all the day long.
For my loins are filled with burning;And there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am faint and sore bruised:I have {Hebrew: roared.}groaned by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,And blot out all mine iniquities.
Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way,And be filled with their own devices.
Be not among winebibbers,Among gluttonous eaters of flesh:
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty;And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
Who hath {Hebrew: Oh!}woe? who hath {Hebrew: Alas!}sorrow? who hath contentions?Who hath complaining? who hath wounds without cause?Who hath {Or, darkness}redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine;They that go to {Or, try}seek out mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red,When it sparkleth in the cup,When it {Or, moveth itself aright}goeth down smoothly:
At the last it biteth like a serpent,And stingeth like an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold {Or, strange women}strange things,And thy heart shall utter perverse things.
Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea,Or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not hurt;They have beaten me, and I felt it not:When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith Jehovah of hosts, then will I send the curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.