That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.
He must give back what he worked so hard to get, and he won't be able to keep it for himself. He'll have to pay back according to how much wealth he gained, and he won't find any joy in it.
This verse is saying that ill-gotten gains will eventually have to be returned, and there will be no satisfaction in wealth obtained through wrongdoing.
📚 Historical Context
This is part of Zophar's second speech to Job, where he describes what he believes happens to wicked people. Zophar is trying to convince Job that his suffering must be due to sin, using vivid imagery about how the wealth of evil people is temporary and must be restored. In ancient times, restitution laws required wrongdoers to pay back more than what they stole.
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