Job Chapter 20 — Zophar’s Speech on the Fate of the Wicked
Zophar the Naamathite delivers his second response to Job, arguing that the success of wicked people is temporary and will ultimately end in ruin and divine judgment.
1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,
2“Therefore my thoughts answer me,
3I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame.
4Don’t you know this from old time,
5that the triumphing of the wicked is short,
6Though his height mount up to the heavens,
7yet he will perish forever like his own dung.
8He will fly away as a dream, and will not be found.
9The eye which saw him will see him no more,
10His children will seek the favor of the poor.
11His bones are full of his youth,
12“Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth,
13though he spare it, and will not let it go,
14yet his food in his bowels is turned.
15He has swallowed down riches, and he will vomit them up again.
16He will suck cobra venom.
17He will not look at the rivers,
18He will restore that for which he labored, and will not swallow it down.
19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor.
20“Because he knew no quietness within him,
21There was nothing left that he didn’t devour,
22In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress will overtake him.
23When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him.
24He will flee from the iron weapon.
25He draws it out, and it comes out of his body.
26All darkness is laid up for his treasures.
27The heavens will reveal his iniquity.
28The increase of his house will depart.
29This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
Job 20:5
“that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless but for a moment.”
This verse encapsulates Zophar's main argument regarding the temporary nature of evil prosperity.
Job 20:29
“This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed to him by God.”
It serves as the summary statement of Zophar's worldview regarding God's judgment and the fate of the wicked.
Chapter Summary
In Job Chapter 20, Zophar the Naamathite delivers his second and final speech. He is prompted to speak by a sense of urgency, responding to what he perceives as a shameful reproof from Job. Zophar’s message centers on the idea that the prosperity of the wicked is fleeting and their joy is momentary. He describes how an evil person might rise to great heights, yet they will ultimately perish and be forgotten like a dream. Zophar emphasizes the physical and material ruin that awaits those who oppress the poor and greedily accumulate wealth. He uses vivid imagery, such as swallowing riches and vomiting them up or sucking cobra venom, to illustrate the toxic nature of sin. According to Zophar, the wicked will find no peace or sufficiency; instead, they will face divine wrath and the loss of their heritage. He concludes that this destruction is the portion appointed to the wicked by God, reinforcing the belief that Job’s suffering is evidence of hidden iniquity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zophar argues that the success of wicked individuals is always temporary. He claims that even if they become wealthy or powerful, God will eventually bring about their ruin and strip away their ill-gotten gains.
Zophar explains that while a wicked person may enjoy the sweetness of their evil actions, those actions will eventually turn bitter within them. He uses the metaphor of food turning into cobra venom to describe how riches gained through oppression will ultimately cause distress.
Zophar claims that the children of a wicked man will be forced to seek the favor of the poor. This implies a complete reversal of fortune where the descendants of the oppressor must beg from those their father once exploited.
Study Note
Zophar’s speech is characterized by harsh, vivid imagery of physical illness and consumption to describe the internal and external effects of a wicked life.
Related Chapters
Job Chapter 11
Zophar’s first speech to Job, where he initially lays out his perspective on divine justice.
Job Chapter 21
Job’s direct response to Zophar’s claims about the prosperity and fate of the wicked.
Psalm 73
A biblical reflection on the confusion caused by the apparent prosperity of the wicked.
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