Job 21
1 Then Job answered:
Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
Audite quaeso sermones meos, et agite poenitentiam.
3 Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
Sustinete me, et ego loquar, et post mea, si videbitur, verba ridete.
4 Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est, ut merito non debeam contristari?
5 Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
Attendite me, et obstupescite, et superponite digitum ori vestro:
6 When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
Et ego quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco, et concutit carnem meam tremor.
7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
Quare ergo impii vivunt, sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis?
8 Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
Semen eorum permanet coram eis, propinquorum turba, et nepotum in conspectu eorum.
9 Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
Domus eorum securae sunt et pacatae, et non est virga Dei super illos.
10 Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit: vacca peperit, et non est privata foetu suo.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
Egrediuntur quasi greges parvuli eorum, et infantes eorum exultant lusibus.
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
Tenent tympanum, et citharam, et gaudent ad sonitum organi.
Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
Qui dixerunt Deo: Recede a nobis, et scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
Quis est Omnipotens, ut serviamus ei? et quid nobis prodest si oraverimus illum?
16 Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
Verumtamen quia non sunt in manu eorum bona sua, consilium impiorum longe sit a me.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
Quoties lucerna impiorum extinguetur, et superveniet eis inundatio, et dolores dividet furoris sui?
18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
Erunt sicut paleae ante faciem venti, et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.
19 It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris: et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet.
20 Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
Videbunt oculi eius interfectionem suam, et de furore Omnipotentis bibet.
21 For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
Quid enim ad eum pertinet de domo sua post se? et si numerus mensium eius dimidietur?
22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
Numquid Deus docebit quispiam scientiam, qui excelsos iudicat?
23 One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
Iste moritur robustus et sanus, dives et felix.
24 His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
Viscera eius plena sunt adipe, et medullis ossa illius irrigantur:
25 Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
Alius vero moritur in amaritudine animae absque ullis opibus:
26 But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
Et tamen simul in pulvere dormient, et vermes operient eos.
27 Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
Certe novi cogitationes vestras, et sententias contra me iniquas.
28 For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
Dicitis enim: Ubi est domus principis? et ubi tabernacula impiorum?
29 Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
Interrogate quemlibet de viatoribus, et haec eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis:
30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
Quia in diem perditionis servatur malus, et ad diem furoris ducetur.
31 Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
Quis arguet coram eo viam eius? et quae fecit, quis reddet illi?
32 He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
Ipse ad sepulchra ducetur, et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
Dulcis fuit glareis Cocyti, et post se omnem hominem trahet, et ante se innumerabiles.
34 So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
Quomodo igitur consolamini me frustra, cum responsio vestra repugnare ostensa sit veritati?
