Job 20:12-15
“Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue, though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him. He swallows down riches and vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The verse paints a picture of someone savoring sin like a forbidden, delicious treat, rolling it around their tongue to prolong the pleasure. This isn't just about enjoying wickedness; it's about intentionally prolonging that sensory delight, a deliberate choice to hold onto the sweetness before it inevitably turns bitter.
Zophar continues his harsh accusations against Job, painting a vivid picture of the wicked person's delight in sin. He describes how a sinner savors sinful actions like a delicious treat, clinging to the pleasure of wrongdoing as if it were a forbidden delicacy. This imagery sets the stage for Zophar's argument that such temporary sweetness inevitably leads to bitter and destructive consequences.
Ever felt a temptation that just felt good, even though you knew it was wrong? The Bible doesn't shy away from this reality.
Zophar uses a powerful image here: sin is like a delicious treat. It's 'sweet in his mouth,' and the wicked person 'hides it under his tongue.'
The Gourmet of Guilt
Think about someone savoring a rich dessert. They don't just gulp it down; they let it linger, rolling it around, prolonging the pleasure. This is exactly how Zophar describes the sinner's delight in wrongdoing. It's not just a fleeting impulse; it’s a cherished experience they want to prolong.
The Bitter Truth
This sweetness is a trap. It’s a temporary sensory pleasure that masks a much deeper, destructive reality. The Bible consistently warns that sin's initial appeal is a deception, designed to lead us away from what is truly life-giving.
Why would someone hold onto something they know is destructive? The answer lies in the deliberate act of savoring.
The phrase 'hides it under his tongue' isn't just about enjoying the taste; it’s about deliberately prolonging the enjoyment.
The Sinful Epicure
This is like an epicure carefully holding a delicacy in their mouth, not wanting the experience to end. The sinner doesn't just commit the act; they mentally revisit it, dwelling on the thrill, the power, or the illicit satisfaction. They 'spare it and forsake it not,' as other parts of Job suggest.
Internalizing the Poison
This deliberate act of holding onto sin is a critical step. It allows the sin to become more deeply ingrained. It's not just an outward act but an inward dwelling, preparing the ground for the eventual bitter consequences described later in Zophar's speech.
Understand the original words
ra‘ah · Hebrew Noun
Moral wrongness, wickedness, or sinfulness that is contrary to God’s character and law. It encompasses both the act of wrongdoing and the state of being opposed to God.
ro’sh · Hebrew Noun
A toxic substance injected or secreted by serpents, frequently used in the Bible as a metaphor for the deadly, corrosive, and deceitful nature of sin and wicked speech.
chayil · Hebrew Noun
Material possessions, wealth, or substance. In wisdom literature, riches are often viewed as precarious; if gained through wickedness, they are subject to divine judgment and confiscation.
‘El · Hebrew Noun
The one true Creator and Judge of all. In this context, He acts as the active agent who intervenes in human affairs to strip the wicked of their ill-gotten gains and execute justice.
This passage describes how the wicked 'eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence,' vividly illustrating the idea of finding pleasure in sinful actions that are ultimately destructive.
Proverbs 23:31-32Here, wine (a metaphor for intoxicating pleasure) is described as eventually biting like a serpent and stinging like a viper, showing how seemingly sweet pleasures turn to bitterness and poison.
Hebrews 11:25This verse speaks of Moses choosing to 'enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin' for a time, highlighting the temporary and deceptive sweetness of sin compared to eternal riches.
Jeremiah 2:18-19God confronts Israel about their pursuit of 'sweet' sin, comparing it to the bitter consequence of their own sinfulness that would chasten them.
bensonJob 20:12: "Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;"
Job 20:12-14 . Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth — Though it greatly please him while he is committing it; though he hide it under his tongue — As an epicure doth a sweet morsel, which he keeps and rolls about his mouth, that he may longer enjoy the pleasure of it. Though he be highly pleased with the gratification of his lusts, and cleave to his sinful pleasures in hearty love, resolving to hold the…
clarkeJob 20:12: "Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue;"
Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth - This seems to refer to the secret sins mentioned above. Hide it under his tongue - This and the four following verses contain an allegory; and the reference is to a man who, instead of taking wholesome food, takes what is poisonous, and is so delighted with it because it is sweet, that he rolls it under his tongue, and will scarcely let it down into his stomach, he…
The verse paints a picture of someone savoring sin like a forbidden, delicious treat, rolling it around their tongue to prolong the pleasure. This isn't just about enjoying wickedness; it's about intentionally prolonging that sensory delight, a deliberate choice to hold onto the sweetness before it inevitably turns bitter.
Zophar continues his harsh accusations against Job, painting a vivid picture of the wicked person's delight in sin. He describes how a sinner savors sinful actions like a delicious treat, clinging to the pleasure of wrongdoing as if it were a forbidden delicacy. This imagery sets the stage for Zophar's argument that such temporary sweetness inevitably leads to bitter and destructive consequences.
Zophar continues his harsh accusations against Job, painting a vivid picture of the wicked person's delight in sin. He describes how a sinner savors sinful actions like a delicious treat, clinging to the pleasure of wrongdoing as if it were a forbidden delicacy. This imagery sets the stage for Zophar's argument that such temporary sweetness inevitably leads to bitter and destructive consequences.
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"“Though evil is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue, though he is loath to let it go and holds it in his mouth, yet his food is turned in his stomach; it is the venom of cobras within him. He swa…" — The verse paints a picture of someone savoring sin like a forbidden, delicious treat, rolling it around their tongue to prolong the pleasure. This isn't just about enjoying wickedness; it's about int…
