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Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
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“Therefore my thoughts urge me to answer, because my heart is no longer able to be still.
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I have heard a rebuke that insults me, but a spirit without understanding answers me.
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Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on the earth,
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that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
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Though his pride reaches to the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
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yet he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, Where is he?
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He will fly away like a dream and be found no more; he will vanish like a night vision.
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The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will behold him no longer.
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His children must seek the favor of the poor, and his own hands must give back his wealth.
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His bones may be full of the vigor of youth, but that vigor shall lie down with him in the dust.
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Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue,
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though he cherishes it and will not let it go, and holds it in his mouth,
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yet his food is turned in his stomach; it becomes the venom of cobras within him.
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He swallows down riches, but he vomits them up again; God drives them out of his belly.
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He will suck the venom of cobras; the tongue of a viper will slay him.
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He will not look upon the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds.
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He must give back what he gained and not swallow it down; he will not enjoy the wealth of his trading.
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For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build.
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Surely he knew no quietness within himself, and he will not escape with his treasure.
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Nothing escapes his greed; therefore his prosperity does not endure.
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In the fullness of his abundance he is in distress; every hand of trouble comes upon him.
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To fill his belly, God sends upon him the heat of his anger, and rains it down on him as his food.
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He may flee from the iron weapon, yet the bronze arrow pierces him.
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It is drawn out and comes forth from his back; the glittering point comes out of his gall: terrors come upon him.
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Utter darkness is laid up for him; a fire not blown upon consumes him and devours what is left in his tent.
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The heavens reveal his guilt, and the earth rises up against him.
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The produce of his house is carried away; it is swept away in the day of his wrath.
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This is the portion from God for the wicked man, the inheritance appointed to him by God.”
🔥💰⏳ Summary of Job 20 – “The Joy of the Wicked Is Brief”
In Job 20, Zophar the Naamathite speaks again, and as before, he delivers a severe theological accusation. He insists that the happiness of the wicked is always short-lived, and in the end they will be punished and destroyed. Though Zophar does not name him, it is clear he is accusing Job of being wicked and now receiving his due.
This chapter is a picture of judgment upon evil, but it also reflects a narrow view that all suffering is the result of sin.
📌 1. Zophar: I Must Speak (verses 1–3)
➡️ Zophar feels offended by Job’s earlier reply (Job 19)
➡️ He says, “Therefore, my urgent answer comes forth from me.”
➡️ His anger leads him to preach in wrath, not in compassion.
🎯 Emotion without empathy can turn theology into an instrument of condemnation.
📌 2. The Short and Bitter Life of the Wicked (verses 4–11)
➡️ Zophar emphasizes that:
- The wicked may seem to prosper for a little while
- But that prosperity will vanish like a dream
➡️ “Though his head reaches to the heavens, he will perish like refuse.”
➡️ His children will die and his inheritance will disappear
➡️ “His bones may still be strong, but soon they will vanish.”
🎯 Zophar believes that the life of the wicked will never be long-lived or truly happy.
📌 3. Wickedness Will Become Poison in the Belly (verses 12–22)
➡️ He uses the metaphor of food:
Wickedness is sweet in the mouth, but turns into serpent’s poison in the belly
➡️ What is gained by deceit will be vomited up by God
➡️ “Because he oppresses the poor and abandons the needy…”
➡️ God will cause the wealth of the wicked to vanish and his life to be miserable.
🎯 Zophar stresses the principle of sowing and reaping strictly — with no room for mercy.
📌 4. Fire and the Wrath of God Bring the Wicked to an End (verses 23–29)
➡️ When the wicked feel full, the wrath of God will strike
➡️ “The arrows of God will pierce his body”
➡️ “He will be burned by an unquenchable fire”
➡️ Zophar ends firmly:
“This is the portion of the wicked’s inheritance from God!”
🎯 This is total judgment that, according to Zophar, is certain to come — as if to say, “Job, that is you!”
📖 Main Teaching
- Zophar is right in general moral principle: sin brings ruin
- But he is wrong to apply it absolutely to Job
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“The wages of sin is death…”
➡️ Zophar’s principle is true, but it is not complete without grace.
“God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good…”
➡️ Life is not always linear between blessing = good and suffering = evil.
“The Lord is patient… not willing that any should perish.”
➡️ Zophar sees God as a swift judge, whereas the Lord often waits for repentance.
📖 John 8:7
“Let him who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.”
➡️ Zophar casts stones — but not from a holy place.
🕊️ “Do you know this from of old: that the triumphing of the wicked is short?” – Job 20:4–5
🕊️ “He will perish forever like dung.” – Job 20:7
🕊️ “What he has swallowed God will vomit up from his belly.” – Job 20:15
🕊️ “God’s arrows will pierce his body.” – Job 20:25
🕊️ “This is the portion of the wicked from God.” – Job 20:29
