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 20,26 Hiob 20,26
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out,And the {Or, flame}spark of his fire shall not shine.
Thou wilt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine {Or, presence Hebrew: countenance.}anger:Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath,And the fire shall devour them.
He shall have neither son nor son's son among his people,Nor any remaining where he sojourned.
The light shall be dark in his tent,And his lamp {Or, beside}above him shall be put out.
{Or, It is as the sharp arrows of the mighty man}Sharp arrows of the mighty,With coals of {Or, broom}juniper.
Let his children be fatherless,And his wife a widow.
Let his children be vagabonds, and beg;And let them seek their bread {Or, far from}out of their desolate places.
Let the extortioner {Hebrew: snare.}catch all that he hath;And let strangers make spoil of his labor.
Let there be none to {Or, continued}extend kindness unto him;Neither let there be any to have pity on his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off;In the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah;And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be before Jehovah continually,That he may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
and they shall look unto the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; {Or, and thick darkness shall be driven away. For there &c.}and {Or, in}into thick darkness they shall be driven away.
For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever.
Prepare ye {Or, a place of slaughter}slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers, that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.
And I will rise up against them, saith Jehovah of hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, saith Jehovah.
but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire.
wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own {Greek: shames.}shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.