Job 20

Job 20 belongs to the second cycle of debate between Job and his three friends (chapters 15–21), and it is Zophar's turn to speak. In the preceding chapter, Job 19, Job rebuked the friends who condemned him and warned that judgment would come upon them as well. Zophar takes these words as a reproach meant to shame him and responds with a lengthy description of the fate that awaits the wicked.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Zophar answers. He says that his agitation compels him to speak and that he has heard a rebuke that puts him to shame.
• Verses 4–11 He asserts that from of old the boasting and joy of the wicked have been brief. Even if the wicked man's height reaches to the heavens, he will perish like his own dung and vanish like a dream. His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his bones, full of youthful vigor, will lie down in the dust.
• Verses 12–19 The wicked man hides evil under his tongue like sweet food, but in his stomach it turns into the gall of asps. God makes him vomit up the riches he has swallowed, and he will not see the rivers flowing with honey and butter. Zophar says this is because he oppressed the poor and seized a house he did not build.
• Verses 20–29 Because the wicked man knows no contentment, his prosperity will not last. God's fierce wrath will rain down upon him; if he flees from the iron weapon, a bronze bow will pierce him through. A fire not kindled by man will consume him, and heaven and earth will expose his guilt. Zophar concludes that this is the portion the wicked receive from God.

Key Verses

• Job 20:5 "The triumphing of the wicked is short" — This verse sums up Zophar's entire argument in a single line.
• Job 20:27 "The heaven shall reveal his iniquity" — This verse stands in direct opposition to Job's claim that his witness is in heaven (Job 16:19–21).
• Job 20:29 "This is the portion of a wicked man from God" — This is the conclusion of Zophar's doctrine of retribution (the principle that people are repaid according to their deeds).

People and Places

• Zophar: A Naamathite and one of Job's three friends. The exact location of Naamah is unknown.
• Job: Although Zophar does not call him by name, Job is the target of his words.

Points for Reflection

• Zophar does not directly call Job wicked. In context, however, he implies that Job's suffering is the result of hidden sin. In the next chapter, Job 21, Job refutes this argument by pointing out that the wicked do in fact sometimes prosper.
• At the end of the book, God declares that the friends did not speak what was right as Job did (Job 42:7–10). For this reason, many interpreters caution against citing the friends' words as though they were direct teaching from God. On the other hand, Paul quotes the words of Eliphaz (Job 5:13) in 1 Corinthians 3:19 with the formula "it is written." On this basis, some hold that the friends' words contain elements that are true as general principles but were wrongly applied to Job.
• Job 27:13 uses wording nearly identical to Job 20:29. Some scholars regard the latter part of chapter 27 as Zophar's third speech.
• The same theme of the prosperity of the wicked is also addressed in Psalm 73.