"24. He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.
{p. 298}
"25. It is drawn and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword" (the comet?) "cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.
"26. All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him. . . .
"27. The heavens shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
"28. The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath."
What does all this mean? While the rich man, (necessarily a wicked man,) is eating his dinner, God shall rain upon him a consuming fire, a fire not blown by man; he shall be pierced by the arrows of God, the earth shall quake under his feet, the heavens shall blaze forth his iniquity; the darkness shall be hid, shall disappear, in the glare of the conflagration; and his substance shall flow away in the floods of God's wrath.
Job answers him in powerful language, maintaining from past experience his position that the wicked ones do not suffer in this life any more than the virtuous (chap. xxi):
"Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways."
And here we seem to have a description (chap. xvi, Douay ver.) of Job's contact with the comet: