Job 21
1 And Job answered and said,
Then Job responded by saying:
2 Hear attentively my speech, and let this replace your consolations.
I beseech you to hear my words and to do penance.
3 Suffer me and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock on!
Permit me, and I will speak, and afterwards, if you see fit, you can laugh at my words.
4 As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient?
Is my dispute against man, so that I would have no reason to be discouraged?
5 Mark me, and be astonished, and lay the hand upon the mouth.
Listen to me and be astonished, and place a finger over your mouth.
6 Even when I think [thereon], I am affrighted, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
As for me, when I think it over, I am afraid, and trembling convulses my body.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live, grow old, yea, become mighty in power?
Why then do the impious live, having been lifted up and strengthened with riches?
8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.
They see their offspring continue before them: a commotion of close relatives and of children’s children in their sight.
9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their houses have been secure and peaceable, and there is no staff of God over them.
10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
Their cattle have conceived and have not miscarried; their cow has given birth and is not deprived of her newborn.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children jump around playfully.
12 They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They take up the timbrel and the lyre, and they rejoice at the sound of the organ.
Their days are prolonged in wealth, yet, in an instant, they descend into hell. (Sheol h7585)
14 And they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
Who has said to God, “Depart from us, for we do not want the knowledge of your ways.
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him?
Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And how is it helpful to us if we pray to him?”
16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked be far from me!
It is true that their good things are not in their power. May the counsel of the impious be far from me!
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and cometh their calamity upon them? Doth he distribute sorrows [to them] in his anger?
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 Do they become as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
They will be like chaff before the face of the wind, and like ashes that the whirlwind scatters.
19 God layeth up [the punishment of] his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know [it]:
God will preserve the grief of the father for his sons, and, when he repays, then he will understand.
20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the fury of the Almighty.
His eyes will see his own destruction, and he will drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what pleasure should he have in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?
For what does he care what happens to his house after him, or if the number of its months are reduced by half?
22 Can any teach God knowledge? And he it is that judgeth those that are high.
Can anyone teach holy knowledge to God, who judges the exalted?
23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet;
This one dies strong and healthy, rich and happy.
24 His sides are full of fat, and the marrow of his bones is moistened;
His gut is full of fat and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 And another dieth in bitterness of soul, and hath not tasted good:
In truth, another dies in bitterness of soul, without any resources.
26 Together they lie down in the dust, and the worms cover them.
And yet they will sleep together in the dust, and worms will cover them.
27 Lo, I know your thoughts, and the devices ye wrongfully imagine against me.
Surely, I know your thoughts and your sinful judgments against me.
28 For ye say, Where is the house of the noble? and where the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
For you say, “Where is the house of the ruler, and where are the tabernacles of the impious?”
29 Have ye not asked the wayfarers? and do ye not regard their tokens:
Ask any passerby whom you wish, and you will realize that he understands these same things:
30 That the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity? They are led forth to the day of wrath.
that the evil-doer is reserved for the day of destruction, and he will be led to the day of wrath.
31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
Who will reprove his way to his face, and who will repay him for what he has done?
32 Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.
He will be led to the tomb, and he will remain awake in the chaos of the dead.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet unto him; and every man followeth suit after him, as there were innumerable before him.
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 How then comfort ye me in vain? Your answers remain perfidious.
Therefore, how long will you console me in vain, when your answer is shown to be repugnant to truth?
