Job 21
1 Maar Job antwoordde en zeide:
Then Job replied,
2 Hoort aandachtelijk mijn rede, en laat dit zijn uw vertroostingen.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Verdraagt mij, en ik zal spreken; en nadat ik gesproken zal hebben, spot dan.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Is (mij aangaande) mijn klacht tot den mens? Doch of het zo ware, waarom zou mijn geest niet verdrietig zijn?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Ziet mij aan, en wordt verbaasd, en legt de hand op den mond.
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 Ja, wanneer ik daaraan gedenk, zo word ik beroerd, en mijn vlees heeft een gruwen gevat.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Waarom leven de goddelozen, worden oud, ja, worden geweldig in vermogen?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Hun zaad is bestendig met hen voor hun aangezicht, en hun spruiten zijn voor hun ogen.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Hun huizen hebben vrede zonder vreze, en de roede Gods is op hen niet.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Zijn stier bespringt, en mist niet; zijn koe kalft, en misdraagt niet.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Hun jonge kinderen zenden zij uit als een kudde, en hun kinderen huppelen.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Zij heffen op met de trommel en de harp, en zij verblijden zich op het geluid des orgels.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 Nochtans zeggen zij tot God: Wijk van ons, want aan de kennis Uwer wegen hebben wij geen lust.
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Wat is de Almachtige, dat wij Hem zouden dienen? En wat baat zullen wij hebben, dat wij Hem aanlopen zouden?
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 Doch ziet, hun goed is niet in hun hand; de raad der goddelozen is verre van mij.
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 Hoe dikwijls geschiedt het, dat de lamp der goddelozen uitgeblust wordt, en hun verderf hun overkomt; dat God hun smarten uitdeelt in Zijn toorn!
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 Dat zij gelijk stro worden voor den wind, en gelijk kaf, dat de wervelwind wegsteelt;
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Dat God Zijn geweld weglegt voor Zijn kinderen, hem vergeldt, dat hij het gewaar wordt;
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Dat zijn ogen zijn ondergang zien, en hij drinkt van de grimmigheid des Almachtigen!
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Want wat lust zou hij na zich aan zijn huis hebben, als het getal zijner maanden afgesneden is?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Zal men God wetenschap leren, daar Hij de hogen richt?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Deze sterft in de kracht zijner volkomenheid, daar hij gans stil en gerust was;
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 Zijn melkvaten waren vol melk, en het merg zijner benen was bevochtigd.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 De ander daarentegen sterft met een bittere ziel, en hij heeft van het goede niet gegeten.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Zij liggen te zamen neder in het stof, en het gewormte overdekt ze.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 Ziet, ik weet ulieder gedachten, en de boze verdichtselen, waarmede gij tegen mij geweld doet.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Want gij zult zeggen: Waar is het huis van den prins, en waar is de tent van de woningen der goddelozen?
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Hebt gijlieden niet gevraagd de voorbijgaanden op den weg, en kent gij hun tekenen niet?
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 Dat de boze onttrokken wordt ten dage des verderfs; dat zij ten dage der verbolgenheden ontvoerd worden.
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Wie zal hem in het aangezicht zijn weg vertonen? Als hij wat doet, wie zal hem vergelden?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Eindelijk wordt hij naar de graven gebracht, en is gedurig in den aardhoop.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 De kluiten des dals zijn hem zoet, en hij trekt na zich alle mensen; en dergenen, die voor hem geweest zijn, is geen getal.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Hoe vertroost gij mij dan met ijdelheid, dewijl in uw antwoorden overtreding overig is?
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
