Job 20:20

"For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he will not build it up."

Key Reflection

In Job 20:20, Zophar underscores a devastating consequence of wickedness through the lens of social injustice and economic exploitation. The verse highlights how an oppressor not only exploits and crushes the poor but also gains their possessions—houses they do not genuinely build themselves—leaving no future for these ill-gotten gains, as such prosperity is ultimately ephemeral and will not endure. This reflects a broader cultural context where wealth often comes at the expense of the vulnerable, with dire long-term consequences for both the oppressor and their unjustly acquired wealth.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Surely he shall not feel quietness -Margin, as in the Hebrew “know.” The sense is, he shall not know peace or tranquility. He shall be agitated and troubled. Wemyss, however, renders this, “Because his appetite could not be satisfied.” Noyes, “Because his avarice was insatiable.” So Rosenmuller explains it. So the Vulgate renders it, “Nec est satiatus renter ejus.” The Septuagint, “Neither is there safety to his property, nor shall he be saved by his desire.” But it seems to me that the former is the sense, and that the idea is, that he should not know peace or tranquility after he had obtained the things which he had so anxiously sought. In his belly -Within him; in his mind or heart.

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