Albert Barnes Commentary Job 20:5

"That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless but for a moment?" — Job 20:5 (ASV)

That the triumphing - The word “triumphing” here (רננה renânâh), meaning “shouting, rejoicing”—such a shouting as people make after a victory, or such as occurred at the close of harvesting. Here it means that the occasion which the wicked had for rejoicing would be brief. It would last only for a moment, and then he would be overwhelmed with calamity or cut off by death.

Short - Margin, as in Hebrew, “from near.” That is, it would soon be over.

And the joy of the hypocrite only for a moment? - This probably means, as used by Zophar, that the happiness of a hypocrite would be brief—referring to the happiness arising from the possession of health, life, property, friends, and reputation. Soon God would take away all these and leave him to sorrow. This, he said, was the regular course of events as they had been observed from the earliest times. But the language conveys most important truths concerning the spiritual joys of the hypocrite at all times, though it is not certain that Zophar used it in this sense. The truths are these:

1. There is a kind of joy which a hypocrite may have—the counterfeit of that which a true Christian possesses. The word “hypocrite” may be used in a broad sense to denote the man who is a professor of religion but who has no true piety, as well as him who intentionally deceives others and makes pretensions to piety that he knows he does not possess. Such a man may have joy. He supposes that his sins are forgiven and that he has a well-founded hope of eternal life. He may have been greatly distressed in view of his sin and danger, and when he supposes that his heart is changed and the danger has passed, he will, by the nature of the case, experience a type of enjoyment. A man is confined in a dungeon under sentence of death. A forged instrument of pardon is brought to him. He does not know that it is forged and supposes the danger is past, and his joy will be as real as though the pardon were genuine. So with the man who supposes that his sins are forgiven.

2. The joy of the self-deceiver or the hypocrite will be short. There is no genuine religion to sustain it, and it soon dies away. It may be at first very elevated, just as the joy of the man who supposed that he was pardoned would fill him with exultation. But in the case of the hypocrite, it soon dies away.

   He has no true love for God; he has never been truly reconciled to Him; he has no real faith in Christ; he has no sincere love of prayer, of the Bible, or of Christians. Consequently, the temporary excitement soon fades, and he lives without comfort or peace.

   He may be a professor of religion, but with him, it is a matter of form, and he has neither love nor zeal in the cause of his professed Master. Motives of pride, the desire for a reputation for piety, or some other selfish aim may keep him in the church, and he lives to spread a blight on all around him.

   Or if, under the illusion, he should be able to keep up some emotions of happiness in his heart, they must soon cease, for death will soon end it all for the hypocrite.

Therefore, how important it is for us to inquire whether the peace we seek and may possess in religion is the genuine happiness that results from true reconciliation to God and a well-founded hope of salvation. Sad will be the disappointment of the one who has cherished a hope of heaven throughout life, should he at last sink down to hell! Deep will be the condemnation of the one who has professed to be a friend of God but has been at heart His bitter foe; who has endeavored to keep up the forms of religion but has been a stranger throughout life to the true peace that religion produces!