10 His children must make amends to the poor; his own hands must give back his wealth. 11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. 12 "Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, 13 though he cannot bear to let it go and lets it linger in his mouth, 14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. 15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed; God will make his stomach vomit them up. 16 He will suck the poison of serpents; the fangs of an adder will kill him. 17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. 18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten; he will not enjoy the profit from his trading. 19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute; he has seized houses he did not build. 20 "Surely he will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. 21 Nothing is left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. 22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him; the full force of misery will come upon him.
10 His children
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor, and his hands will give back his wealth. 11 His 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, though he hides it under his tongue, 13 though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, 14 yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him. 15 He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16 He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him. 17 He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds. 18 He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment. 19 For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build. 20 "Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. 21 There was nothing left after he had eaten; therefore his prosperity will not endure. 22 In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress; the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
10 Their children will go begging on skid row, and they'll have to give back their ill-gotten gain. 11 Right in the prime of life, and youthful and vigorous, they'll die. 12 "They savor evil as a delicacy, roll it around on their tongues, 13 Prolong the flavor, a dalliance in decadence - real gourmets of evil! 14 But then they get stomach cramps, a bad case of food poisoning. 15 They gag on all that rich food; God makes them vomit it up. 16 They gorge on evil, make a diet of that poison - a deadly diet - and it kills them. 17 No quiet picnics for them beside gentle streams with fresh-baked bread and cheese, and tall, cool drinks. 18 They spit out their food half-chewed, unable to relax and enjoy anything they've worked for. 19 And why? Because they exploited the poor, took what never belonged to them. 20 "Such God-denying people are never content with what they have or who they are; their greed drives them relentlessly. 21 They plunder everything but they can't hold on to any of it. 22 Just when they think they have it all, disaster strikes; they're served up a plate full of misery.
10 His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth. 11 His 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, 13 Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his mouth, 14 Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him. 15 He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly. 16 He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper's tongue will slay him. 17 He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream. 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. 19 For 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. 21 Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last. 22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him.
10 Their children will beg from the poor, for they must give back their stolen riches. 11 Though they are young, their bones will lie in the dust. 12 "They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness, letting it melt under their tongue. 13 They savored it, holding it long in their mouths. 14 But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour, a poisonous venom in their stomach. 15 They will vomit the wealth they swallowed. God won't let them keep it down. 16 They will suck the poison of cobras. The viper will kill them. 17 They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil or rivers of milk and honey. 18 They will give back everything they worked for. Their wealth will bring them no joy. 19 For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute. They foreclosed on their homes. 20 They were always greedy and never satisfied. Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about. 21 Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves. Therefore, their prosperity will not endure. 22 "In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble and be overcome by misery.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 20:10-22
Commentary on Job 20:10-22
(Read Job 20:10-22)
The miserable condition of the wicked man in this world is fully set forth. The lusts of the flesh are here called the sins of his youth. His hiding it and keeping it under his tongue, denotes concealment of his beloved lust, and delight therein. But He who knows what is in the heart, knows what is under the tongue, and will discover it. The love of the world, and of the wealth of it, also is wickedness, and man sets his heart upon these. Also violence and injustice, these sins bring God's judgments upon nations and families. Observe the punishment of the wicked man for these things. Sin is turned into gall, than which nothing is more bitter; it will prove to him poison; so will all unlawful gains be. In his fulness he shall be in straits, through the anxieties of his own mind. To be led by the sanctifying grace of God to restore what was unjustly gotten, as Zaccheus was, is a great mercy. But to be forced to restore by the horrors of a despairing conscience, as Judas was, has no benefit and comfort attending it.