Zophar's proclamation about the wicked
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Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
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“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me.
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I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply.
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Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth,
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the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
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Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds,
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he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’
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He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
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The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him.
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His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
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The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
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Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,
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though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth,
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yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.
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He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach.
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He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him.
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He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
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He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading.
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For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
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Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure.
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Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure.
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In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him.
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When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.
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Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him.
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It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver.(a) Terrors come over him.
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Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.
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The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.
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The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.
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This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.”
Footnotes