Job 21
1 To naah Job mah,
Then Job answered:
2 ka lok hae kahoih ah tahngai ah; nang pathloephaih lok loe hae tiah om nasoe.
“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
3 Tahngai ah, lok ka thuih han vop; koeh boeh loe ka thuih pacoengah, na pahnui thui ah.
Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 Kai loe kami maw laisaep thuih? To tiah om nahaeloe, palung duem ai ah om tih maw?
Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
5 Kai hae na khen ah loe, dawnrai ah; pakha to ban hoi tamuep ah.
Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
6 Hae kawng hae ka poek naah ka zit moe; ka takpum boih tasoeh.
When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
7 Tipongah kasae kaminawk loe hinglung sawk o, mitong khoek to ngantui o moe, angraeng o pacoengah, thacak o loe?
Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
8 Anih ih caanawk loe angmah taengah khosak o moe, angmah ih acaengnawk doeh a mikhnuk ah qoeng o tahang.
Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 A imnawk doeh misa zithaih om ai, Sithaw danpaekhaih thingboeng doeh nihcae nuiah krah ai.
Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
10 Nihcae ih maitaw tae loe apet ai ah apaa cuk o moe, kapomh maitaw doeh acaa zuun vai ai.
Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
11 Nihcae ih caanawk loe tuu baktiah caeh o moe, hnawh o.
They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
12 Cingceng to boh o, katoeng kruek hoiah laa a sak o moe, tamoi lok hoiah anghoe o.
singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol h7585)
14 Nihcae loe Sithaw khaeah, Na caeh taak ah, Na loklam panoek han ka koeh o ai.
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
15 Thacak Sithaw loe kawbangmaw oh moe, a tok ka sak pae o han loe? Anih khaeah lawk ka thuih o nahaeloe, tih atho maw om tih, tiah a thuih o.
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
16 Khenah, nihcae angraenghaih loe angmacae ban ah om poe ai; kazae kaminawk ih poekhaih to angqoi taak boeh.
Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
17 Sithaw mah kasae kaminawk ih hmaithaw to paduek pae, anih palungphui pongah nihcae to amrosak moe, nihcae nuiah vai nazetto maw raihaih to phaksak?
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
18 Nihcae loe takhi mah hmuh ih anghnoeng baktiah oh o moe, takhi sae mah hmuh ih tavai baktiah ni oh o.
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
19 Nangcae mah loe, zaehaih sah kaminawk zuengah a caanawk to Sithaw mah danpaek tih, tiah na thuih o; toe kaimah loe a sak pazaehaih panoek thai hanah, Sithaw mah zaehaih sah kami angmah roe to danpaek nasoe, tiah ka thuih.
It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
20 Angmah amrohaih to a mik hoi roe hnu nasoe loe, Thacak Sithaw palungphuihaih to nae nasoe.
Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
21 Anih han paek ih ani hoi akhrah akoep naah loe, anih mah a caeh taak ih a caanawk hanah timaw sah pae thai tih?
For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
22 Mi mah maw hmuensang ah kaom kaminawk lokcaekkung Sithaw to patuk thai tih?
Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
23 Kami maeto loe tha oh li, misa monghaih hoiah khosak moe, nawm li nathuem,
One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
24 A takpum kahoih ah qoeng tahang li moe, ahuhnawk tangkhring hoiah koi li nathuem ah duek ving.
His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
25 Kalah kami maeto bae loe khosak nawmhaih tong vai ai, a hinghaih patangkhang pongah duek.
Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
26 Nihnik loe maiphu thungah angsong hoi moe, sadong mah khuk khoep boeh.
But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
27 Khenah, ka nuiah sak han na pacaeng ih kahoih ai hmuen to ka panoek.
Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 Nang mah, angraeng ih im naa ah maw oh, kasae kaminawk ih im naa ah maw oh? tiah na thuih.
For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
29 Kholong caeh kaminawk to lok na dueng o vai ai maw? A sak o ih angmathaih to na panoek o ai maw?
Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
30 Kahoih ai kami loe amrohaih ani hanah pahoe boeh, palungphuihaih ani hanah suek boeh pongah, anih loe vaihi loih tih boeh, tiah na poek o ai maw?
Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
31 A sak ih kahoih ai hmuen to mi mah maw taphong pae tih? A sak ih zaehaih baktih toengah mi mah maw pathok tih?
Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
32 Toe anih loe taprong ah phak naah doeh, tangprong toepkung to suem pae o tih.
He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
33 Azawn ih long loe anih hanah luep, kami boih anih hnukah patom o ueloe, anih hmaa ah kroek laek ai kaminawk caeh o tih.
The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
34 To tiah nahaeloe tih han ih azom pui ah kaom lok hoiah nang pathloep o loe? Nang pathimhaih lok ah tangtang to om ai, amsawnlok cing ni oh, tiah a naa.
So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
