Job 21
1 Then Job responded by saying:
Then Job replied,
2 I beseech you to hear my words and to do penance.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Permit me, and I will speak, and afterwards, if you see fit, you can laugh at my words.
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 my dispute against man, so that I would have no reason to be discouraged?
“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 Listen to me and be astonished, and place a finger over your mouth.
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 As for me, when I think it over, I am afraid, and trembling convulses my body.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Why then do the impious live, having been lifted up and strengthened with riches?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 They see their offspring continue before them: a commotion of close relatives and of children’s children in their sight.
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 Their houses have been secure and peaceable, and there is no staff of God over them.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Their cattle have conceived and have not miscarried; their cow has given birth and is not deprived of her newborn.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children jump around playfully.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 They take up the timbrel and the lyre, and they rejoice at the sound of the organ.
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 Who has said to God, “Depart from us, for we do not want the knowledge of your ways.
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 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And how is it helpful to us if we pray to him?”
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 It is true that their good things are not in their power. May the counsel of the impious be far from me!
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 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?
(“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 They will be like chaff before the face of the wind, and like ashes that the whirlwind scatters.
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 God will preserve the grief of the father for his sons, and, when he repays, then he will understand.
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 His eyes will see his own destruction, and he will drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 For what does he care what happens to his house after him, or if the number of its months are reduced by half?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Can anyone teach holy knowledge to God, who judges the exalted?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 This one dies strong and healthy, rich and happy.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 His gut is full of fat and his bones are moistened with marrow.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 In truth, another dies in bitterness of soul, without any resources.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 And yet they will sleep together in the dust, and worms will cover them.
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 Surely, I know your thoughts and your sinful judgments against me.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 For you say, “Where is the house of the ruler, and where are the tabernacles of the impious?”
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Ask any passerby whom you wish, and you will realize that he understands these same things:
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 that the evil-doer is reserved for the day of destruction, and he will be led to the day of wrath.
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 Who will reprove his way to his face, and who will repay him for what he has done?
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 He will be led to the tomb, and he will remain awake in the chaos of the dead.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 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.
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 Therefore, how long will you console me in vain, when your answer is shown to be repugnant to truth?
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
