| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: | 1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: |
| 2“So my anxious thoughts compel me to answer, because of the turmoil within me. | 2“I must reply because I am greatly disturbed. |
| 3I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding prompts a reply. | 3I’ve had to endure your insults, but now my spirit prompts me to reply. |
| 4Do you not know that from antiquity, since man was placed on the earth, | 4“Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time, ever since people were first placed on the earth, |
| 5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary? | 5the triumph of the wicked has been short lived and the joy of the godless has been only temporary? |
| 6Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, and his head touches the clouds, | 6Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens and their heads touch the clouds, |
| 7he will perish forever, like his own dung; those who had seen him will ask, ‘Where is he?’ | 7yet they will vanish forever, thrown away like their own dung. Those who knew them will ask, ‘Where are they?’ |
| 8He will fly away like a dream, never to be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night. | 8They will fade like a dream and not be found. They will vanish like a vision in the night. |
| 9The eye that saw him will see him no more, and his place will no longer behold him. | 9Those who once saw them will see them no more. Their families will never see them again. |
| 10His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth. | 10Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. |
| 11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust. | 11Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust. |
| 12Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue, | 12“They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue. |
| 13though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, | 13They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. |
| 14yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him. | 14But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. |
| 15He swallows wealth but vomits it out; God will force it from his stomach. | 15They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won’t let them keep it down. |
| 16He will suck the poison of cobras; the fangs of a viper will kill him. | 16They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them. |
| 17He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. | 17They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey. |
| 18He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it; he cannot enjoy the profits of his trading. | 18They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy. |
| 19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build. | 19For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes. |
| 20Because his appetite is never satisfied, he cannot escape with his treasure. | 20They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about. |
| 21Nothing is left for him to consume; thus his prosperity will not endure. | 21Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure. |
| 22In the midst of his plenty, he will be distressed; the full force of misery will come upon him. | 22“In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery. |
| 23When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats. | 23May God give them a bellyful of trouble. May God rain down his anger upon them. |
| 24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce him. | 24When they try to escape an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them. |
| 25It is drawn out of his back, the gleaming point from his liver. Terrors come over him. | 25The arrow is pulled from their back, and the arrowhead glistens with blood. The terrors of death are upon them. |
| 26Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. | 26Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness. A wildfire will devour their goods, consuming all they have left. |
| 27The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. | 27The heavens will reveal their guilt, and the earth will testify against them. |
| 28The possessions of his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God’s wrath. | 28A flood will sweep away their house. God’s anger will descend on them in torrents. |
| 29This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the inheritance God has appointed him.” | 29This is the reward that God gives the wicked. It is the inheritance decreed by God.” |
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