JOB 20-21
ZOHPAR VS JOB (ROUND 2)
Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
—Job 20:6-7
The man looked down and began reading Zophar’s next line:
I must reply because I am greatly disturbed.
I’ve had to endure your insults,
but now my spirit prompts me to reply.
Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
ever since people were first placed on the earth,280
that the rejoicing of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless momentary?281
Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask, “Where are they?”
They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.282
Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust.283
They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
letting it melt under their tongue.
They savored it,
holding it long in their mouths.
But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
a poisonous venom in their stomach.284
They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
God won’t let them keep it down.
They will suck the poison of cobras.
The viper will kill them.
They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
or rivers of milk and honey.285
They will give back everything they worked for.
Their wealth will bring them no joy.
For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
They foreclosed on their homes.
They were always greedy and never satisfied.
Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.
In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
and be overcome by misery.286
May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
May God rain down his anger upon them.
When they try to escape an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
The arrow is pulled from their back,
and the arrowhead glistens with blood.
The terrors of death are upon them.287
Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
consuming all they have left.
The heavens will reveal their guilt,
and the earth will testify against them.
A flood will sweep away their house.
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
It is the inheritance decreed by God.288
Sensing the boy’s lack of enthusiasm, the old man didn’t bother looking up from his Bible. As he turned the page, he said, “Zophar predictably offers nothing new. But even in this case of three unrelenting forces pounding on one immovable object, we get the sense that Job, Eliphaz, and Bildad might have all looked at Zophar, wondering who said anything about envying the wicked. Perhaps these stares of befuddlement are what shut Zophar up, because this is the last we hear from him. I can’t say we’ll miss him. I think, for any reader, the thought is more along the lines of ‘good riddance.’”
And with that, the old man carried on with Job’s response:
Listen closely to what I am saying.
That’s one consolation you can give me.289
Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.290
My complaint is with God, not with people.
I have good reason to be so impatient.291
Look at me and shudder,
put your hand over your mouth.292
When I think about this, I am terrified,
trembling seizes my body.293
Why do the wicked prosper,
growing old and powerful?294
They live to see their children grow up and settle down,
and they enjoy their grandchildren.
Their homes are safe from every fear,
and God does not punish them.295
Their bulls never fail to breed.
Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.
They let their children frisk about like lambs.
Their little ones skip and dance.296
They sing with the tambourine and harp,
and rejoice at the sound of the flute.297
They spend their days in prosperity,
then go down to the grave in peace.298
They say to God,
“Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.299
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
What would we gain by praying to Him?”300
They think their prosperity is of their own doing,
but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.
Do they ever have trouble?
Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?301
Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff a storm sweeps away?302
You say, “At least God will punish their children!”
But I say he should punish the ones who sin,
so that they understand his judgment.303
Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.304
For they will not care what happens to their family after they are dead.
But who can teach a lesson to God,
since He judges even the most powerful?305
One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
well-nourished in body,
bones rich with marrow.306
Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of prosperity.307
Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.308
Behold, I know your thoughts,
and the plots you devise against me.309
You will tell me of rich and wicked people
whose houses have vanished because of their sins.
But ask those who have been around,
and they will tell you the truth.310
Evil people are spared in times of calamity
and are allowed to escape disaster.
No one criticizes them openly
or pays them back for what they have done.311
They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.312
A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.
Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,
and the earth gives sweet repose.
How can your empty cliches comfort me?
All your explanations are lies!313
This time, the man looked up at the boy. “Unfortunately, Job’s response isn’t much better. He’s suckered down to Zophar’s level and spends an entire chapter insisting retribution never happens. The ungodly defy God, yet go unpunished. Instead of being struck down, they prosper. Success makes them more arrogant, and the world applauds them. And while these observations seem as true today as they did in those times, it leaves us wishing Job could have stuck with hope in a redeemer, instead of trying to beat Zophar at his own game.
“But alas, we know as time passes, conflicts tend to get more complicated instead of simpler. Expecting comfort, Job receives platitudes. Hoping for sympathy, he gets theology. And broken down by round after round of speeches, we see Job stooping down to envy the wicked himself. The friends have grown colder, Job’s tipping over the edge of despair, and unfortunately for you, my dear boy, we still have one more round of dialogue to endure.”