Verse 29 is a summary conclusion of Zophar’s speech, in which the things said about the wicked man are the things he can expect to receive from God. In a similar vein Eliphaz summarized his conclusions in 5.27, and Bildad also, in 18.21.

This is the wicked man’s portion from God: this line refers to all that Zophar has said to depict the fate of the wicked. Portion translates the same word found in 27.13; 31.2, and refers to the “fate, doom, lot” of the wicked. It is what will happen to them because of their wickedness, their inevitable end. Portion often refers to family property, land, that is passed on to the next generation as an inheritance. Thus the image of fate or doom is expressed in terms of inheritance, but that figure is limited because it does not assume that God dies to make it become effective. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “This is what God has destined for the wicked person,” Moffatt “This is what God bestows upon a sinner,” New English Bible “Such is God’s reward for the wicked man.” Wicked man is singular in Hebrew, but the reference is collective, and so Good News Translation “wicked men.” This line may also be rendered, for example, “This is how wicked people come to their end” or “This is the way God judges sinners.”

The heritage decreed for him by God: heritage is parallel to portion in the previous line and also refers to a kind of inheritance, whether land or other possessions. Decreed for him by God means that God gives to the wicked this fate or doom. If the lines are to be kept parallel, some form of “wicked person” must be supplied in the second line: Good News Translation “them” and Revised Standard Version him. Line b expands line a only slightly, and it may be expressed, for example, “it is the fate that God has decided for him” or “this is the doom (bad ending) that God has arranged for them (sinners).”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .