< 約伯記 21 >
Then Job responded by saying:
I beseech you to hear my words and to do penance.
3 請寬容我,我又要說話; 說了以後,任憑你們嗤笑吧!
Permit me, and I will speak, and afterwards, if you see fit, you can laugh at my words.
Is my dispute against man, so that I would have no reason to be discouraged?
Listen to me and be astonished, and place a finger over your mouth.
As for me, when I think it over, I am afraid, and trembling convulses my body.
Why then do the impious live, having been lifted up and strengthened with riches?
They see their offspring continue before them: a commotion of close relatives and of children’s children in their sight.
9 他們的家宅平安無懼; 上帝的杖也不加在他們身上。
Their houses have been secure and peaceable, and there is no staff of God over them.
10 他們的公牛孳生而不斷絕; 母牛下犢而不掉胎。
Their cattle have conceived and have not miscarried; their cow has given birth and is not deprived of her newborn.
11 他們打發小孩子出去,多如羊群; 他們的兒女踴躍跳舞。
Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children jump around playfully.
They take up the timbrel and the lyre, and they rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13 他們度日諸事亨通, 轉眼下入陰間。 (Sheol )
Their days are prolonged in wealth, yet, in an instant, they descend into hell. (Sheol )
14 他們對上帝說:離開我們吧! 我們不願曉得你的道。
Who has said to God, “Depart from us, for we do not want the knowledge of your ways.
15 全能者是誰,我們何必事奉他呢? 求告他有甚麼益處呢?
Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And how is it helpful to us if we pray to him?”
16 看哪,他們亨通不在乎自己; 惡人所謀定的離我好遠。
It is true that their good things are not in their power. May the counsel of the impious be far from me!
17 惡人的燈何嘗熄滅? 患難何嘗臨到他們呢? 上帝何嘗發怒,向他們分散災禍呢?
How often will the lamp of the wicked be extinguished, and a deluge overtake them, and how often will he distribute the afflictions of his wrath?
18 他們何嘗像風前的碎稭, 如暴風颳去的糠詷呢?
They will be like chaff before the face of the wind, and like ashes that the whirlwind scatters.
19 你們說:上帝為惡人的兒女積蓄罪孽; 我說:不如本人受報,好使他親自知道。
God will preserve the grief of the father for his sons, and, when he repays, then he will understand.
20 願他親眼看見自己敗亡, 親自飲全能者的忿怒。
His eyes will see his own destruction, and he will drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
For what does he care what happens to his house after him, or if the number of its months are reduced by half?
22 上帝既審判那在高位的, 誰能將知識教訓他呢?
Can anyone teach holy knowledge to God, who judges the exalted?
This one dies strong and healthy, rich and happy.
His gut is full of fat and his bones are moistened with marrow.
In truth, another dies in bitterness of soul, without any resources.
And yet they will sleep together in the dust, and worms will cover them.
Surely, I know your thoughts and your sinful judgments against me.
28 你們說:霸者的房屋在哪裏? 惡人住過的帳棚在哪裏?
For you say, “Where is the house of the ruler, and where are the tabernacles of the impious?”
29 你們豈沒有詢問過路的人嗎? 不知道他們所引的證據嗎?
Ask any passerby whom you wish, and you will realize that he understands these same things:
30 就是惡人在禍患的日子得存留, 在發怒的日子得逃脫。
that the evil-doer is reserved for the day of destruction, and he will be led to the day of wrath.
31 他所行的,有誰當面給他說明? 他所做的,有誰報應他呢?
Who will reprove his way to his face, and who will repay him for what he has done?
He will be led to the tomb, and he will remain awake in the chaos of the dead.
33 他要以谷中的土塊為甘甜; 在他以先去的無數, 在他以後去的更多。
He has been found acceptable to the banks of the River of Lamentation, and he will draw any man towards him, and there are countless before him.
34 你們對答的話中既都錯謬, 怎麼徒然安慰我呢?
Therefore, how long will you console me in vain, when your answer is shown to be repugnant to truth?