Job 20:4-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 20
4Do you know this from ancient times, From the establishment of mankind on earth, 5That the rejoicing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless momentary? 6Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, And his head touches the clouds, 7He perishes forever like his refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him; Like a vision of the night he is chased away. 9The eye which saw him sees him no longer, And his place no longer beholds him. 10His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth. 11His bones are full of his youthful strength, But it lies down with him in the dust. 12'Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth And he hides it under his tongue, 13 Though he desires it and will not let it go, But holds it in his mouth, 14 Yet his food in his stomach is changed To the venom of cobras within him. 15He swallows riches, But will vomit them up; God will expel them from his belly. 16He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue kills him. 17He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds. 18He returns the product of his labor And cannot swallow it; As to the riches of his trading, He cannot even enjoy them. 19For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built. 20'Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires. 21Nothing remains for him to devour, Therefore his prosperity does not endure. 22In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped; The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him. 23When he fills his belly, God will send His fierce anger on him And rain it on him while he is eating. 24He may flee from the iron weapon, But the bronze bow will pierce him.King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 20
4Don’t you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, 5the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? 6Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds, 7he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, "Where is he?" 8He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. 9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his household will no longer see him. 10His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11His frame may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in dust.
12Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
13though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth,
14yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras’ venom inside him.
15He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach.
16He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper’s fangs will kill him.
17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and curds.
18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he doesn’t enjoy the profits from his trading.
19For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.
20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not let anything he desires escape.
21Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him.
23When he fills his stomach, God will send his burning anger against him, raining it down on him while he is eating.
24If he flees from an iron weapon, an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
New Living Translation
Chapter 20
4'Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, 5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary? 6Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds, 7yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’ 8They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night. 9Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again. 10Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. 11Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust.
12'They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue.
13They savored it, holding it long in their mouths.
14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach.
15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down.
16They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them.
17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey.
18They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy.
19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes.
20They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.
English Standard Version
Chapter 20
4Do you not know this from of old, since man was placed on earth, 5 that the exulting of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment? 6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds, 7he will perish forever like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8He will fly away like a dream and not be found; he will be chased away like a vision of the night. 9 The eye that saw him will see him no more, nor will his place any more behold him. 10His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth. 11His bones are full of his youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12"Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue, 13though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, 14yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him. 15He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him. 17He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds. 18He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment. 19For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build. 20"Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. 21There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure. 22In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress; the hand of everyone in misery will come against him. 23To fill his belly to the full, God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body. 24 He will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike him through.New International Version
Chapter 20
4"Surely you know how it has been from of old, ever since mankind was placed on the earth, 5that the mirth of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. 6Though the pride of the godless person reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, 7he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found, banished like a vision of the night. 9The eye that saw him will not see him again; his place will look on him no more. 10His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth.
11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.
12"Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,
13though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth,
14yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him.
15He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up.
16He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him.
17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.
19For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build.
20"Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure.
21Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure.
22In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.
23When he has filled his belly, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows on him.
24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
New King James Version
