約伯記 21
1 約伯回答說：
Job replied,
2 你們且聽一聽我的話! 這也算是你們給我的安慰。
“Please listen carefully to what I say—that would be one comfort you could give me.
3 請讓我發言，我說完後，任你們笑罵。
Bear with me; let me speak. After I've spoken you can resume mocking me.
4 我豈是抱怨人﹖我失了忍耐，難道沒有理由﹖
Am I complaining against people? Of course not. Why shouldn't I be impatient?
5 你們注意聽我，必要吃驚，且要用手堵住口。
Just take a look at me. Aren't you appalled? Cover your mouth with your hand in shock!
6 甚至我一回想，我就恐怖，全身戰慄。
Every time I think of what's happened to me I am horrified and I shake all over with fear.
7 惡人為何享受高壽而勢力強大﹖
Why do the wicked continue to live, to grow old and increasingly powerful?
8 他們在世時，子孫昌盛，親眼看見子子孫孫。
Their children are with them; they watch their grandchildren grow up.
9 他們的住宅平安，無所畏懼，天主的棍杖也不加在他們身上。
They live in their homes in safety—they are not afraid. God does not use his rod to beat them.
10 他們的公牛交尾，無不成功；母牛產子，決無流產。
Their bulls always breed successfully; their cows give birth to calves and do not miscarry.
11 他們使孩子跑出像羊群，子女跳躍如麋鹿。
They send out their little ones like lambs to play; their children dance around.
12 他們伴著手鼓與豎琴歌唱，隨著笛聲歡呼。
They sing accompanied by the tambourine and lyre; they celebrate with the music of the flute.
They live out their lives contentedly, and go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol h7585)
14 但他們曾向天主說：「離開我們! 我們不願知道你的道路。
Yet they tell God, ‘Get lost! We don't want anything to do with you.
15 全能者是誰，竟叫我們事奉他﹖我們祈求他有什麼好處﹖」
Who does the Almighty think he is for us to serve him as slaves? What benefit is there for us if we pray to him?’
16 看啊! 他們的幸福，豈不在他們掌握中﹖惡人的思想豈不離他很遠﹖
Such people believe they make their own fortune, but I don't accept their way of thinking.
17 惡人的燈有多少次熄滅過﹖災禍有多少次降在他們身上﹖天主何嘗因忿怒而消滅他們﹖
How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does disaster come upon them? How often does God punish the wicked in his anger?
18 使他們好像被風吹的碎湝﹖好像被暴風捲去的糠秕﹖
Are they blown along like straw in the wind? Does a tornado come in and carry them away?
19 難道天主要向他的兒子討罪債﹖其實應向他本人報復，叫他覺悟!
Some say, ‘God saves up people's punishment for their children.’ But I say, ‘God should punish those people themselves so that they can learn from it.’
20 叫他親眼看見自己的毀滅，親自飲下全能者的義怒之杯。
Let them see their destruction themselves, and drink deeply from God's anger.
21 他既逝去，他本人的歲月已絕，他的家庭對他還有什麼相干﹖
For they don't care what happens to their families once they're dead.
22 天主既審判天上者，人豈能教給他什麼智識﹖
Can anyone teach God anything he doesn't already know, since he is the one who judges even heavenly beings?
23 有人到死一無所缺，享盡了平安幸福。
One person dies in good health, totally comfortable and secure.
24 他的腰部充滿脂肪，他的骨髓潤澤豐盈；
Their body is fat from eating well; their bones still strong.
25 但有人卻至死心靈酸苦，一生毫無福樂；
Another dies after a miserable life without every experiencing happiness.
26 他們卻一同埋於塵土，為蛆蟲所掩蓋。
Yet they are both buried in the same dust; they are treated alike in death, eaten by maggots.
27 我確知你們的思想，以及對我所籌劃的陰謀。
Look, I know what you're thinking, and your schemes to do me wrong.
28 你們要問：「霸王的家在那裏﹖惡人住的帳幕在何處﹖」
You may ask me, ‘Where is the home of the great man? Where is the place where the wicked live?’
29 你們怎麼不問過路的人﹖難道你們不承認他們的證據﹖
Haven't you asked people who travel? Don't you pay attention to what they tell you?
30 「惡人在毀滅之日不受害，在憤怒之日會得救。」
Wicked people are spared in times of disaster; they are rescued from the day of judgment.
31 他的動作，誰敢當面指摘﹖他的行為，誰能報復﹖
Who confronts them with their actions? Who pays them back for what they have done?
32 他最後被抬入墳墓，且親自守護自己的墓地。
When they eventually die and are carried to the graveyard, their tomb is guarded. The earth of the grave softly covers them.
33 谷中的土壤，他感覺甘美；眾人都跟他而去，但在他前面的人，更不可勝數。
Everyone attends their funeral service; a huge procession of people comes to pay their last respects.
34 你們為何說空話來安慰我﹖你們的答話顯然只是欺詐!
Why do you try to comfort me with worthless nonsense? Your answers are just a pack of lies!”
