Job 20 - Introduction

TODAY'S ENGLISH VERSION

Zophar

1-2 Job, you upset me. Now I-'m impatient to answer.
3 What you have said is an insult,

but I know how to reply to you.

4 Surely you know that from ancient times,

when man was first placed on earth,

5 no wicked man has been happy for long.
6 He may grow great and tower to the sky,

be so great his head reaches the clouds,

7 but he will be blown away like dust.
Those who used to know him

will wonder where he has gone.

8 He will vanish like a dream, like a vision at night,

and never be seen again.

9 He will disappear from the place where he used

to live;

10 and his sons will make good what he stole from

the poor.

11 His body used to be young and vigorous,

but soon it will turn to dust.

12-13 Evil tastes so good to him

he keeps some in his mouth to enjoy the taste.

14 But in his stomach this food turns bitter,

as bitter as any poison could be.

15 The wicked man vomits up the wealth he stole;

God takes it back, even out of his stomach.

16 What the evil man swallows is like poison;

it kills him like the bite of a deadly snake.

17 He will not live to see rivers of olive oil,

or streams that flow with milk and honey.

18 He will have to give up all he has worked for;

he will have no chance to enjoy his wealth,

19 because he oppressed and neglected the poor,

and seized houses someone else had built.

20 His greed is never satisfied.
21 When he eats, there is nothing left over,

but now his prosperity comes to an end.

22 At the height of his success,

all the weight of misery will crush him.

23 Let him eat all he wants!

God will punish him in fury and anger.

24 When he tries to escape from an iron sword,

a bronze bow will shoot him down.

25 An arrow sticks through his body;

its shiny point drips with his blood,

and terror grips his heart.

26 Everything he has saved is destroyed;

a fire not lit by human hands

burns him and all his family.

27 Heaven reveals this man's sin,

and the earth gives testimony against him.

28 All his wealth will be destroyed

in the flood of God's anger.

29 This is the fate of wicked men,

the fate that God decrees for them.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 20:1-29

401.

What prompted Zophar's explosive speech?

402.

Chapter s 18 and 20 are in strong contrast to the content of chapter 19. Discuss at least two differences.

403.

Give two characteristics of Zophar's speech.

404.

The sentence in verse two begins with the word therefore. Something is missing in the thought. What is it?

405.

Job has shamed himhe must answer. Of what has Job accused him?

406.

Give in your own words the meaning of verse four.

407.

The prosperity of the wicked is only for a short time is not a happy solution to the problem of the prosperity of the wicked. It is also a very dangerous concept. Discuss. Why? What is the answer?

408.

Zophar sinks to a new low in verse seven. How so?

409.

Job is compared to a dream and a vision in the night. Explain. Cf. Job 20:8.

410.

What is emphasized in verse nine?

411.

Whose children are involved in verse ten? What is the point of the verse?

412.

Why would the wicked die prematurely (see Job 20:11)? Does this happen often? Discuss.

413.

Sin is both sweet and tasty, but it turns to poison in the stomach. Is it true? Discuss. Why hide it under the tongue?

414.

Job actually (according to Zophar) had compassion on sin. In what way?

415.

The principle espoused by Zophar is true when properly understood and applied. Discuss. Cf. Job 20:14.

416.

Zophar's figures of speech are really graphic, if not coarse. Someone is sick. Who? Why?

417.

Is America infested with the virus of greed to the extent that Job 20:16 describes many in our country? Discuss.

418.

The use of leisure time is discussed in Job 20:17. What is it? How does this relate to our society?

419.

Someone is gagging. Who is it? Why? Cf. Job 20:18.

420.

The poor are oppressed without a cause and the oppressor is not satisfied. Does this happen today? Cite examples. Cf. Job 20:19-21.

421.

Anguish in the midst of luxury, how can this be? Discuss Job 20:22.