Job 20:14

Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

Job 20:14 (KJV)

Context

This verse comes from Zophar the Naamathite, one of Job’s three friends. He speaks in response to Job’s deep suffering and questions. Zophar argues that the wicked ultimately face divine judgment and describes the terrible results of their sin. In the book of Job, a righteous man loses everything, and his friends try to explain his pain. Zophar believes suffering proves hidden wrongdoing, so he urges Job to repent.

Meaning

Zophar uses vivid physical imagery to show the inner ruin of the wicked. The word “meat” can mean “bread,” the basic food that sustains life. What the sinner enjoys and depends on becomes poisoned within him. The “gall of asps” is the bitter poison of venomous snakes. This pictures a person whose own pleasures turn into torment. The Hebrew word for “bowels” points to the deepest inner parts of a person, not just the stomach. So the verse teaches that sin’s enjoyment is temporary and becomes bitterness. The imagery of food turning to venom powerfully conveys that the wicked person’s own gains become the source of his destruction.

Biblical connections

The next verse, Job 20:16, continues the same picture, speaking of sucking the poison of asps and being killed by the viper’s tongue. This reinforces the theme of death by poison. The passage is not mainly about physical digestion. It uses this graphic metaphor to show that sin carries within itself the seeds of its own punishment. The wicked person’s own cravings become the source of his undoing. This is a poetic description of divine retribution: the very thing a person craves and consumes becomes his ruin.

Application

This verse warns us not to envy the temporary success of those who do wrong. Their pleasure does not last. True nourishment comes from God alone. We should examine our own hearts and ask whether we are feeding on what truly satisfies or on what will turn to poison. Zophar’s words remind us that God sees all and will bring justice in His time. For the believer, this is a warning against envying the prosperity of the wicked and a reminder that only God gives lasting satisfaction.

Reflection

Zophar speaks true principles about God’s justice, but he applies them wrongly to Job. Later, God rebukes Job’s friends for their false comfort. This teaches us to be careful when we explain another person’s suffering. We can hold onto the truth that God is just, while also admitting that we do not always know why someone suffers. The verse calls us to trust God’s wisdom and to find our satisfaction in Him alone.