1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2“Therefore my anxious thoughts make
me answer,
Because of
the turmoil within me.
3I have heard the rebuke that
reproaches me,
And the
spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4“Do you not know this of old,
Since man
was placed on earth,
5That the triumphing of the wicked
is short,
And the joy
of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
6Though his haughtiness mounts up to
the heavens,
And his
head reaches to the clouds,
7Yet he will perish forever like his
own refuse;
Those who
have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8He will fly away like a dream, and
not be found;
Yes, he
will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9The eye that saw him will see him
no more,
Nor will
his place behold him anymore.
10His children will seek the favor of
the poor,
And his
hands will restore his wealth.
11His bones are full of his youthful
vigor,
But it will
lie down with him in the dust.
12“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he
hides it under his tongue,
13Though he spares it and does not
forsake it,
But still
keeps it in his mouth,
14Yet his food in his stomach turns
sour;
It becomes
cobra venom within him.
15He swallows down riches
And vomits
them up again; God
casts them out of his belly.
16He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s
tongue will slay him.
17He will not see the streams,
The rivers
flowing with honey and cream.
18He will restore that for which he
labored,
And will
not swallow it down;
From the
proceeds of business
He will get
no enjoyment.
19For he has oppressed and forsaken
the poor,
He has
violently seized a house which he did not build.
20“Because he knows no quietness in
his heart,
He will not
save anything he desires.
21Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore
his well-being will not last.
22In his self-sufficiency he will be
in distress;
Every hand
of misery will come against him.
23When he is about to fill his
stomach,
God will
cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will
rain it on him while he is eating.
24He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze
bow will pierce him through.
25It is drawn, and comes out of the
body;
Yes, the
glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors
come upon him;
26Total darkness is reserved for his
treasures.
An unfanned
fire will consume him;
It shall go
ill with him who is left in his tent.
27The heavens will reveal his
iniquity,
And the
earth will rise up against him.
28The increase of his house will
depart,
And his
goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
29This is the portion from God for a
wicked man,
The
heritage appointed to him by God.”
Commentary
Vs.
1-3
1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2“Therefore my anxious thoughts make
me answer,
Because of
the turmoil within me.
3I have heard the rebuke that
reproaches me,
And the
spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
Zophar’s turn to speak has now come. And yet all that Job previously said, his beautiful declaration of faith, even his ominous warning, all seems to have fallen on deaf ears. For Zophar opens his discourse with a cool sort of indifference to it all. Saying that Job’s words have only made him anxious (not fearfully anxious, or uneasy, but only anxious to want to speak, and thus correct Job). For just as Eliphaz had said previously that Job had aroused a turmoil within him so that he had to rebuke Job, so Zophar his young protege now picks up on the same justification (vs. 2), to respond to what he says has only been Job reproaching him and his friends. Thus, he is only turning what they have been doing to Job and then charging him with it. And in this Zophar claims to have a "spirit of understanding"; which should bot be considered the Holy Spirit as with Elihu who will speak last; but a "spirit of understanding" which he says now causes him to respond to Job. Thus, unlike Job who said his Redeemer was his defense, Zophar is his own.
Vs. 4-7 4“Do you not know this of old,
Since man
was placed on earth,
5That the triumphing of the wicked
is short,
And the joy
of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
6Though his haughtiness mounts up to
the heavens,
And his
head reaches to the clouds,
7Yet he will perish forever like his
own refuse;
Those who
have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
Zophar thus begins his discourse by implying two things via a question to Job, that he has been wicked and he has been living like a hypocrite. Zophar this is once again only presuming upon Job’s guilt as such, and so he treats Job like such as well, as a man who was once triumphing in his sins, but now is brought down, the arrogant hypocrite who exalted himself to the heavens, but having had his moment in the sun, (i.e. moment of prosperity and popularity), he is now brought down to the ground, who is thus destined to perish like his own refuse and be forgotten forever (vs. 4-7). Zophar then completely denies Job’s previous well known righteous lifestyle, as well as his powerful faith declaration of seeing his Redeemer on earth, and thus having any chance of redemption, something that he should not do.
Vs. 8-11 8He will fly away like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he
will be chased away like a vision of the night.
9The eye that saw him will see him
no more,
Nor will
his place behold him anymore.
10His children will seek the favor of
the poor,
And his
hands will restore his wealth.
11His bones are full of his youthful
vigor,
But it will
lie down with him in the dust.
Zophar thus continues on with his many colorful metaphors in his condemnation against Job, describing Job’s person and legacy to only end like a bad dream in the night that is soon chased away out of one’s mind and forgotten (vs. 8). Indeed, Zophar says that those who previously saw Job will see him no more, even his own dwelling place will forget him (vs. 9). And with his stature and standing lost, his children will have to seek the favor of the poor, for he will be forced to restore his wealth; which by implication means Zophar is charging Job with getting his wealth by unjust and crooked means (vs. 10). Zophar then says that though the wicked man is strong in his youth, yet his strength will lie down with him in the dust (vs.11), which is true, but is not applicable to Job, and thus in his seeking to sound "wise and understanding|" all Zophar is doing is falsely charging Job with things he has not done.
Vs. 12-16 12“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he
hides it under his tongue,
13Though he spares it and does not
forsake it,
But still
keeps it in his mouth,
14Yet his food in his stomach turns
sour;
It becomes
cobra venom within him.
15He swallows down riches
And vomits
them up again; God
casts them out of his belly.
16He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s
tongue will slay him.
Zophar continues his rally against the wicked man, saying the evil that was so sweet in his mouth, which he hid under his tongue; thus all evil and manipulative words he so delighted in speaking against others, will come back to poison him (vs. 12-14). As for his ill begotten riches that he swallowed up like a monster, he says God will cause him to vomit them up again (vs. 15).He then goes onto to say that the wicked man will suck the poison of cobras and that the viper’s tongue will slay him, very colorful metaphors for sure, but none are of God, only of Zophar, for they are all nonsense.
Vs. 17 He will not see the streams,
The rivers
flowing with honey and cream.
Zophar here says that the wicked and or hypocritical man shall never see the prosperity that others so freely enjoy. Now if this were so, why do so many wicked and corrupt people become rich and or live in prosperity, and some for all their lives.
Vs. 18 “He will restore that for which he labored,
And will
not swallow it down;
From the
proceeds of business
He will get
no enjoyment.”
Again, Zophar refuses to acknowledges this, and instead insists that all that they have labored for will be taken from them, that they will never enjoy the fruits of their labors as others do, and yet I have seen wicked people live on joyfully with their ill-begotten wealth and prosperity, even while oppressing others.
Vs. 19 “For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has
violently seized a house which he did not build.”
Zophar now gives his reason for their severe judgement, which is a just judgment for sure, and that is because they have oppressed and forsaken the poor, that they have violently seized a house that they themselves did not build. And though his declaration and defense of the poor and helpless is admirable, his words simply are not true, for the judgment that he will declare in verses 20-29 simply does not always happen to those who do such things, for if it did no one would dare live wickedly or do unjustly in this life.
Vs. 20-29 20“Because he knows no quietness in his heart,
He will not
save anything he desires.
21Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore
his well-being will not last.
22In his self-sufficiency he will be
in distress;
Every hand
of misery will come against him.
23When he is about to fill his
stomach,
God will
cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will
rain it on him while he is eating.
24He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze
bow will pierce him through.
25It is drawn, and comes out of the
body;
Yes, the
glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors
come upon him;
26Total darkness is reserved for his
treasures.
An unfanned
fire will consume him;
It shall go
ill with him who is left in his tent.
27The heavens will reveal his
iniquity,
And the
earth will rise up against him.
28The increase of his house will
depart,
And his
goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
29This is the portion from God for a
wicked man,
The
heritage appointed to him by God.”
So powerful are Zophar’s words here against every wicked oppressor that we would all like to see them be done, nonetheless no matter how moving they are, for all who love and want to see justice done here in the earth, they again simply do not always bear out in this life. For if they did, we would not see wicked men hypocritically delighting themselves in all their lies and schemes by which they prosper themselves, even while destroying the lives of others by their doing so. This world then is not as Zophar here describes it, nor will we see that sort of swift justice done until the Lord Jesus Christ Reigns. For only then will God rule the world with a rod of iron, for then will He strike the wicked down even before they can hatch their wicked schemes. Until then we get to live in world ruled and often run by wicked and hypocritical men and women in power, who know ho to use and manipulate others, who twist the facts to serve their own desires, plans and purposes. And so we live in world where evil and injustice is prevalent and present everywhere, where righteous people are often oppressed and persecuted, and wicked people often prosper and live lives of ease, because God's Word is shunned and shut out of the hearts and lives of men and women. Nonetheless even though the wicked person may prosper for a season in this life there is a Judgment Coming that no wicked or unjust person will ever escape (John 5:24-30), and in that basic principal Zophar is correct. For God is the God of Justice, and by Him Justice, Righteousness, and Truth always prevails.
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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