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Job 20; Job 21

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Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 "My troubled thoughts cause me to answer, because I am very upset.
3 You correct me and I am insulted, but I understand how to answer you.
4 "You know how it has been for a long time, ever since people were first put on the earth.
5 The happiness of evil people is brief, and the joy of the wicked lasts only a moment.
6 Their pride may be as high as the heavens, and their heads may touch the clouds,
7 but they will be gone forever, like their own dung. People who knew them will say, 'Where are they?'
8 They will fly away like a dream and not be found again; they will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 Those who saw them will not see them again; the places where they lived will see them no more.
10 Their children will have to pay back the poor, and they will have to give up their wealth.
11 They had the strength of their youth in their bones, but it will lie with them in the dust of death.
12 "Evil may taste sweet in their mouths, and they may hide it under their tongues.
13 They cannot stand to let go of it; they keep it in their mouths.
14 But their food will turn sour in their stomachs, like the poison of a snake inside them.
15 They have swallowed riches, but they will spit them out; God will make them vomit their riches up.
16 They will suck the poison of snakes, and the snake's fangs will kill them.
17 They will not admire the sparkling streams or the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 They must give back what they worked for without eating it; they will not enjoy the money they made from their trading,
19 because they troubled the poor and left them with nothing. They have taken houses they did not build.
20 "Evil people never lack an appetite, and nothing escapes their selfishness.
21 But nothing will be left for them to eat; their riches will not continue.
22 When they still have plenty, trouble will catch up to them, and great misery will come down on them.
23 When the wicked fill their stomachs, God will send his burning anger against them, and blows of punishment will fall on them like rain.
24 The wicked may run away from an iron weapon, but a bronze arrow will stab them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs and pull the points out of their livers. Terrors will come over them;
26 total darkness waits for their treasure. A fire not fanned by people will destroy them and burn up what is left of their tents.
27 The heavens will show their guilt, and the earth will rise up against them.
28 A flood will carry their houses away, swept away on the day of God's anger.
29 This is what God plans for evil people; this is what he has decided they will receive."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Job 21

1 Then Job answered:
2 "Listen carefully to my words, and let this be the way you comfort me.
3 Be patient while I speak. After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me.
4 "My complaint is not just against people; I have reason to be impatient.
5 Look at me and be shocked; put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about this, I am terribly afraid and my body shakes.
7 Why do evil people live a long time? They grow old and become more powerful.
8 They see their children around them; they watch them grow up.
9 Their homes are safe and without fear; God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to mate; their cows have healthy calves.
11 They send out their children like a flock; their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps, and the sound of the flute makes them happy.
13 Evil people enjoy successful lives and then go peacefully to the grave.
14 They say to God, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?'
16 The success of the wicked is not their own doing. Their way of thinking is different from mine.
17 Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off? How often does trouble come to them?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?
19 It is said, 'God saves up a person's punishment for his children.' But God should punish the wicked themselves so they will know it.
20 Their eyes should see their own destruction, and they should suffer the anger of the Almighty.
21 They do not care about the families they leave behind when their lives have come to an end.
22 "No one can teach knowledge to God; he is the one who judges even the most important people.
23 One person dies while he still has all his strength, feeling completely safe and comfortable.
24 His body was well fed, and his bones were strong and healthy.
25 But another person dies with an unhappy heart, never enjoying any happiness.
26 They are buried next to each other, and worms cover them both.
27 "I know very well your thoughts and your plans to wrong me.
28 You ask about me, 'Where is this great man's house? Where are the tents where the wicked live?'
29 Have you never asked those who travel? Have you never listened to their stories?
30 On the day of God's anger and punishment, it is the wicked who are spared.
31 Who will accuse them to their faces? Who will pay them back for the evil they have done?
32 They are carried to their graves, and someone keeps watch over their tombs.
33 The dirt in the valley seems sweet to them. Everybody follows after them, and many people go before them.
34 "So how can you comfort me with this nonsense? Your answers are only lies!"
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.