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