Job 15:17-35

17“Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,

18what the wise have declared, hiding nothing received from their ancestors

19(to whom alone the land was given when no foreigners moved among them):

20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.

21Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him.

22He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness; he is marked for the sword.

23He wanders about for food like a vulture; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24Distress and anguish fill him with terror; troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,

25because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty,

26defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield.

27“Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh,

28he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble.

29He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.

30He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

31Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return.

32Before his time he will wither, and his branches will not flourish.

33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.

34For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes. 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit.”