Job 20: Group Study Handout

Overview

In Job chapter 20, Zophar the Naamathite responds to Job’s earlier discourse. He is agitated by Job's words and aims to correct Job’s perspective. Zophar argues that the triumph of the wicked is short-lived and that their joy is temporary.

Key verse

“Don’t you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,”

Job 20:4 (WEB)

Outline

1. Job 20:1–3 Zophar Responds to Job
2. Job 20:4–11 Fleeting Nature of the Wicked
3. Job 20:12–19 The Bitter End of the Wicked
4. Job 20:20–26 Inevitability of Divine Retribution
5. Job 20:27–29 Conclusion on Wickedness

Discussion questions

1. In v5, what does Zophar say about the joy of the godless?
2. In v20, what does Zophar claim about the wicked's inner state?
3. The image of 'cobra venom' in v14: what does it suggest about the consequences of wickedness?
4. In v23, what does Zophar imply about God's timing in punishing the wicked?
5. When have you seen someone’s apparent success lead to their downfall, as Zophar describes in this chapter?

Go deeper

Passages that echo Job 20: Job 18, Job 27, Job 15.

Before next time: read Job 21.