Job 20
Job chapter 20 consists of the second speech of Zophar, one of Job’s friends. Zophar responds to what Job had said about the fate of the wicked, emphasizing how the wicked are ultimately judged. This chapter is divided broadly into the following structure:
- Verses 1-3: the opening of Zophar’s speech, and his response to Job’s words
- Verses 4-11: an explanation that the prosperity of the wicked is brief
- Verses 12-22: pointing out that the blessing the wicked receive quickly turns bitter
- Verses 23-29: the end of the wicked and a declaration of God’s judgment
1verseThen Zophar the Naamathite answered,
2verse“Therefore my thoughts answer me, even by reason of my haste that is in me.
3verseI have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me.
4verseDon’t you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,
5versethat the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?
6verseThough his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,
7verseyet he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8verseHe will fly away as a dream, and will not be found. Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9verseThe eye which saw him will see him no more, neither will his place see him any more.
10verseHis children will seek the favor of the poor. His hands will give back his wealth.
11verseHis bones are full of his youth, but youth will lie down with him in the dust.
12verse“Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,
13versethough he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth,
14verseyet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.
15verseHe has swallowed down riches, and he will vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.
16verseHe will suck cobra venom. The viper’s tongue will kill him.
17verseHe will not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.
18verseHe will restore that for which he labored, and will not swallow it down. He will not rejoice according to the substance that he has gotten.
19verseFor he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he will not build it up.
20verse“Because he knew no quietness within him, he will not save anything of that in which he delights.
21verseThere was nothing left that he didn’t devour, therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22verseIn the fullness of his sufficiency, distress will overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery will come on him.
23verseWhen he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.
24verseHe will flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow will strike him through.
25verseHe draws it out, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terrors are on him.
26verseAll darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire will devour him. It will consume that which is left in his tent.
27verseThe heavens will reveal his iniquity. The earth will rise up against him.
28verseThe increase of his house will depart. They will rush away in the day of his wrath.
29verseThis is the portion of a wicked man from God, the heritage appointed to him by God.”
Summary of the Main Points
Zophar disagrees with Job’s claim and emphasizes the wicked’s brief success and the misery of their end. He explains that although the wicked may rise for a moment, their success does not last, and they eventually face God’s judgment. In these assertions is a strict cause-and-effect relationship regarding human life and actions.
In particular, Zophar describes in detail how the wicked’s greed and selfishness eventually return to harm him. The expression that even ‘what is sweet like honey’ will ultimately turn into ‘the venom of a snake’ in the stomach (verses 14-16) symbolically illustrates this message.
The Thematic Meaning of the Whole Chapter
This chapter shows one aspect of the problem of the cause of suffering and God’s justice, which is a major point of debate in Job. Zophar’s position is a traditional and simple logic that assumes that, based on human actions, the outcome (blessing or judgment) is given immediately and necessarily. Job’s actual situation—namely, that the wicked are not always judged immediately, and that the righteous suffer—challenges this logic. Therefore, this chapter forms one pillar of the deep theological discussion in Job, leading readers to reflect on suffering in life from a broader perspective without offering easy answers.
Points to Reflect On
- I reflect on whether I, too, sometimes fail to move beyond the world’s logic of cause and effect.
- I reflect that it is not all there is to see—that the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous are not the whole story.
- I think about how to understand and believe in God in the face of suffering, and what attitude I will live with.
Applying It to Myself
- On the path of faith, rather than arriving at an easy and quick conclusion, I can practice acknowledging the complexity of life and trusting God.
- When evaluating another person’s suffering or prosperity, I need to look humbly from God’s perspective rather than relying only on my own standards.
