Job 20:12-22

12 »Ellos disfrutaron del dulce sabor de la maldad,
dejando que se deshiciera bajo su lengua.

13 La saborearon,
dejándola mucho tiempo en la boca;

14 pero de repente, la comida en su estómago se vuelve ácida,
un veneno en su vientre.

15 Vomitarán la riqueza que se tragaron;
Dios no permitirá que la retengan.

16 Chuparán el veneno de cobras
y la víbora los matará.

17 Nunca más disfrutarán de las corrientes de aceite de oliva
ni de los ríos de leche y miel.

18 Devolverán todo lo que consiguieron con tanto esfuerzo;
su riqueza no les traerá alegría.

19 Pues oprimieron a los pobres y los dejaron sin nada;
se adueñaron de sus casas.

20 Estuvieron siempre llenos de avaricia y nunca quedaron satisfechos;
no queda nada de todo lo que soñaron.

21 Comen hasta hartarse pero después no les queda nada,
por eso, su prosperidad no perdurará.

22 »En medio de la abundancia, caerán en dificultades
y el sufrimiento se apoderará de ellos.

Job 20:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 20

Zophar and his friends, not satisfied with Job's confession of faith, he in his turn replies, and in his preface gives his reasons why he made any answer at all, and was so quick in it, Job 20:1-3; and appeals to Job for the truth of an old established maxim, that the prosperity of wicked men and hypocrites is very short lived, Job 20:4,5; and the short enjoyment of their happiness is described by several elegant figures and similes, Job 20:6-9; such a wicked man being obliged, in his lifetime, to restore his ill gotten goods, and at death to lie down with the sins of his youth, Job 20:10,11; his sin in getting riches, the disquietude of his mind in retaining them, and his being forced to make restitution, are very beautifully expressed by the simile of a sweet morsel kept in the mouth, and turned to the gall of asps in the bowels, and then vomited up, Job 20:12-16; the disappointment he shall have, the indigent and strait circumstances he shall be brought into, and the restitution he shall be obliged to make for the oppression of the poor, and the uneasiness he shall feel in his own breast, are set forth in a very strong light, Job 20:17-22; and it is suggested, that not only the hand of wicked men should be upon him, but the wrath of God also, which should seize on him suddenly and secretly, and would be inevitable, he not being able to make his escape from it, and which would issue in the utter destruction of him and his in this world, and that to come, Job 20:23-28. And the chapter is, concluded with this observation, that such as before described is the appointed portion and heritage of a wicked man from God, Job 20:29.