1 E ntonces Sofar el naamatita le dijo:

¶ Then Zophar, the Naamathite, answered and said,

2 « Creo que estoy obligado a responderte. No me puedo quedar callado.

My thoughts certainly cause me to answer, and therefore, I make haste.

3 T e he escuchado censurar mis reprensiones, y mi inteligencia me obliga a responderte.

I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my intelligence causes me to answer.

4 ¿ Acaso no sabes que esto siempre ha sido así, desde que hubo el primer hombre en la tierra?

Dost thou not know this that always was, since man was placed upon earth,

5 L a alegría del malvado no dura mucho. El gozo del impío es sólo momentáneo.

that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

6 A unque su orgullo lo eleve hasta el cielo, y crea alcanzar las nubes levantando la cabeza,

Though his excellency mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches unto the clouds,

7 s erá, como basura, destruido para siempre, y quienes lo hayan visto no volverán a verlo.

yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung; those who have seen him shall say, What is become of him?

8 S e disipará, se esfumará como un sueño, como una visión nocturna que nadie vuelve a tener.

He shall fly away as a dream and shall not be found: yea, he shall flee away as a vision of the night.

9 Q uienes lo conocieron, nunca más vuelven a verlo, y en su pueblo natal nadie lo podrá reconocer.

The eye which saw him shall see him no more; neither shall his place behold him any more.

10 S us hijos pedirán la compasión de los pobres, y devolverán lo que su padre haya robado.

¶ His poor sons shall go forth begging, and their hands shall restore that which he stole.

11 A unque ahora sea un hombre lleno de vigor, en la tumba quedará convertido en polvo.

His bones are full of the sins of his youth, which shall be buried with him in the dust.

12 S olía deleitarse con la miel de su maldad, que su lengua paladeaba con deleite;

If wickedness was sweet in his mouth, if he hid it under his tongue,

13 s i su maldad le parecía bien, no la dejaba, sino que la saboreaba con fruición.

if it seemed good unto him, and he did not forsake it, but savored it within his mouth,

14 ¡ Pero luego de comerla, le cambiará el sabor! ¡Será en sus entrañas como veneno de víboras!

his food shall be changed in his bowels, it shall be the gall of asps within him.

15 ¡ Se hartó de riquezas, y tendrá que devolverlas! ¡Dios hará que las arroje de su vientre!

He has swallowed down riches, but he shall vomit them up again; God shall cast them out of his belly.

16 ¡ Absorberá el veneno mortal de áspides! ¡Una serpiente venenosa lo morderá,

He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper’s tongue shall slay him.

17 y no volverá a ver los ríos ni los arroyos, ni los torrentes de leche y miel!

He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

18 » No disfrutará de sus riquezas injustas, sino que todas ellas tendrá que devolverlas,

He shall restore the work that was not his; according to the substance that he took; neither shall he devour, nor rejoice.

19 p orque a los pobres los dejó en el desamparo, y se adueñó de casas que él nunca construyó.

Because he oppressed and forsook the poor; because he has violently taken away houses which he did not build,

20 P or eso, nunca podrá vivir tranquilo, pues en su ambición nada dejaba escapar.

therefore, he shall not feel quietness in his belly; he shall not escape with that which he desired.

21 N unca nada se libró de su voracidad; por eso su prosperidad no será duradera.

Nothing is left that he did not eat; therefore, his goods shall not last.

22 S u extremada abundancia le causará dolor, y todo el poder del mal recaerá sobre él.

In the fullness of his sufficiency, he shall come into anguish; the hands of all the wicked shall come upon him.

23 C uando se siente a la mesa, dispuesto a comer, Dios descargará todo el ardor de su ira sobre él y sobre todo lo que coma.

¶ When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him and shall rain it upon him and upon his food.

24 A unque huya de las armas de hierro, caerá víctima de un arco de bronce:

He shall flee from the weapons of iron, and the bow of bronze shall strike him through.

25 u na flecha le atravesará el cuerpo, la punta de acero le perforará el hígado, y le sobrevendrán terribles temores.

He shall draw forth an arrow from his quiver, and like lightning it shall strike through his gall; terrors shall come upon him.

26 U na terrible oscuridad le está reservada; un fuego no atizado lo consumirá, y acabará con lo que aún quede de su casa.

All darkness is kept for his secrets; a fire not blown shall consume him; his successor shall be broken in his tent.

27 L os cielos dejarán ver sus injusticias, y la tierra se levantará para acusarlo.

The heavens shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

28 E l día que Dios tiene señalado para su ira, sus hijos serán llevados al destierro y esparcidos.

The increase of his house shall be taken captive; they shall be scattered in the day of his wrath.

29 A sí castiga Dios a la gente malvada; ésa es la herencia que Dios les ha asignado.»

This is the portion of a wicked man from God and the heritage that God appoints unto him by his word.