Big Idea: Zophar insists that God always punishes the wicked.

Understanding the Text

In Job 20, Zophar speaks to Job for his second and final time, because in the third cycle Zophar chooses not to answer him. So this chapter constitutes Zophar’s final answer to his friend. Numerous times he alludes to details in Job’s previous speeches, often trying to turn Job’s words against him, but in particular Zophar responds indignantly to Job’s reproof in 19:28–29. However, he dismisses what Job says rather than really interacting seriously with the points he has raised. For Zophar, there is no room for an exception to the retribution formula, as Job claims he is. Zophar insists that the pride of the wicked will be humbled (20:1–11), the appetite of the wicked will destroy them (20:12–23), and th…