The Meaning of Job 20:5 Explained

Job 20:5

KJV: That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

YLT: That the singing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the profane for a moment,

Darby: The exultation of the wicked is short, and the joy of the ungodly man but for a moment?

ASV: That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That the triumphing  of the wicked  [is] short,  and the joy  of the hypocrite  [but] for a moment? 

What does Job 20:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 20:1-29 - "the Triumphing Of The Wicked"
Zophar is the man who least of all understood Job. The rebuke which Job had just administered, Job 19:28-29, has vexed him, so that he speaks with impatience.
The theme of Zophar's speech is the brevity of the prosperity of the wicked. He claims that this is an acknowledged principle, Job 20:4; then proceeds to show it by many striking metaphors.
Hypocrite, Job 20:5, is "godless" in the r.v.; and in describing the prosperity and speedy destruction of such, Job 20:5-11, he manifestly applies his words to Job. He refuses to pay any heed to Job's protestations of innocence. His theology was: God is righteous; he blesses and prospers the good, and destroys the wicked. Job was being destroyed; therefore Job was wicked. Thus often do we in our ignorance misunderstand God and cruelly misjudge man.
Zophar descends to more particulars. He describes the pleasure which the ungodly has in sin, Job 20:12-13; how his sin becomes his punishment, Job 20:14-22; and how terrible destruction at last visits him, Job 20:23-28, as his portion from God, Job 20:29. Though in all this Zophar was wrong in applying it to Job's case, and equally wrong in supposing that this life is the place of judgment for the wicked, yet it is important to remember that he was right in seeing a very real connection between sin and punishment. However sweet sin may be to the taste, it is sure to become bitter as the gall of asps ere long. The "pleasures of sin" are but for a season. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 20

1  Zophar shows the state and portion of the wicked

What do the individual words in Job 20:5 mean?

that the triumphing of the wicked is short and the joy of the hypocrite is [but] for a moment
כִּ֤י רִנְנַ֣ת רְ֭שָׁעִים מִקָּר֑וֹב וְשִׂמְחַ֖ת חָנֵ֣ף עֲדֵי־ ؟ רָֽגַע

כִּ֤י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
רִנְנַ֣ת  the  triumphing 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: רְנָנָה  
Sense: ringing cry, shout (for joy).
רְ֭שָׁעִים  of  the  wicked 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָשָׁע  
Sense: wicked, criminal.
מִקָּר֑וֹב  is  short 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָרֹוב  
Sense: near.
וְשִׂמְחַ֖ת  and  the  joy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: שִׂמְחָה  
Sense: joy, mirth, gladness.
חָנֵ֣ף  of  the  hypocrite  is 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָנֵף 
Sense: hypocritical, godless, profane, hypocrite, irreligious.
עֲדֵי־  [but]  for 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
؟ רָֽגַע  a  moment 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רֶגַע  
Sense: a moment adv.