Job 21
1 And Job answered and said,
And Job answers and says:
2 Hear attentively my speech, and let this replace your consolations.
“Hear my word diligently, And this is your consolation.
3 Suffer me and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock on!
Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking—you may deride.
4 As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient?
[Is] my complaint [against] man? And if [so], why may my temper not become short?
5 Mark me, and be astonished, and lay the hand upon the mouth.
Turn to me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
6 Even when I think [thereon], I am affrighted, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
Indeed, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh has taken fright.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live, grow old, yea, become mighty in power?
Why do the wicked live? They have become old, Indeed, they have been mighty in wealth.
8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.
Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God on them.
10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
His bullock breeds without fail. His cow brings forth safely, and does not miscarry.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
They send forth their sucklings as a flock, And their children skip,
12 They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of a pipe.
They wear out their days in good, And in a moment go down [to] Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
14 And they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
And they say to God, Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Your ways We have not desired.
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him?
What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?
16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked be far from me!
Behold, their good [is] not in their hand (The counsel of the wicked Has been 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 is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And their calamity comes on them? He apportions pangs in His anger.
18 Do they become as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a windstorm has stolen away,
19 God layeth up [the punishment of] his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know [it]:
God lays up for his sons his sorrow, He gives repayment to him—and he knows.
20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the fury of the Almighty.
His own eyes see his destruction, And he drinks of the wrath of the Mighty.
21 For what pleasure should he have in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?
For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
22 Can any teach God knowledge? And he it is that judgeth those that are high.
Does [one] teach knowledge to God, Since He judges [those] on high?
23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet;
This [one] dies in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
24 His sides are full of fat, and the marrow of his bones is moistened;
His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow moistens his bones.
25 And another dieth in bitterness of soul, and hath not tasted good:
And this [one] dies with a bitter soul, And has not eaten with gladness.
26 Together they lie down in the dust, and the worms cover them.
Together they lie down on the dust, And the worm covers them over.
27 Lo, I know your thoughts, and the devices ye wrongfully imagine against me.
Behold, I have known your thoughts, And the schemes against me you do wrongfully.
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 noble? And where the tent—the dwelling places of the wicked?
29 Have ye not asked the wayfarers? and do ye not regard their tokens:
Have you not asked those passing by the way? And do you not know their signs?
30 That the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity? They are led forth to the day of wrath.
That the wicked is spared to a day of calamity. They are brought to a day of wrath.
31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
Who declares his way to his face? And [for] that which he has done, Who gives repayment to him?
32 Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.
And he is brought to the graves, And a watch is kept over the heap.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet unto him; and every man followeth suit after him, as there were innumerable before him.
The clods of the valley have been sweet to him, And he draws every man after him, And there is no numbering before him.
34 How then comfort ye me in vain? Your answers remain perfidious.
And how do you comfort me [with] vanity, And trespass has been left in your answers?”
