Job 20:3-13

3 He tenido que soportar tus insultos,
pero ahora mi espíritu me mueve a responder.

4 »¿No te das cuenta que desde el principio del tiempo,
desde que el hombre fue puesto sobre la tierra por primera vez,

5 el triunfo de los malos ha durado poco
y la alegría de los que viven sin Dios ha sido pasajera?

6 Aunque el orgullo de los incrédulos llegue hasta los cielos
y toquen las nubes con la cabeza,

7 aun así, ellos desaparecerán para siempre
y serán desechados como su propio estiércol.
Sus conocidos preguntarán:
“¿Dónde están?”.

8 Se desvanecerán como un sueño y nadie los encontrará;
desaparecerán como una visión nocturna.

9 Quienes alguna vez los vieron, no los verán más;
sus familias nunca volverán a verlos.

10 Sus hijos mendigarán de los pobres
porque tendrán que devolver las riquezas que robaron.

11 A pesar de ser jóvenes
sus huesos yacerán en el polvo.

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;

Job 20:3-13 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.