Job 21
1 Job replied,
And Job answereth and saith: —
2 “Please listen carefully to what I say—that would be one comfort you could give me.
Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.
3 Bear with me; let me speak. After I've spoken you can resume mocking me.
Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking — ye may deride.
4 Am I complaining against people? Of course not. Why shouldn't I be impatient?
I — to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
5 Just take a look at me. Aren't you appalled? Cover your mouth with your hand in shock!
Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
6 Every time I think of what's happened to me I am horrified and I shake all over with fear.
Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live, to grow old and increasingly powerful?
Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.
8 Their children are with them; they watch their grandchildren grow up.
Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
9 They live in their homes in safety—they are not afraid. God does not use his rod to beat them.
Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.
10 Their bulls always breed successfully; their cows give birth to calves and do not miscarry.
His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
11 They send out their little ones like lambs to play; their children dance around.
They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,
12 They sing accompanied by the tambourine and lyre; they celebrate with the music of the flute.
They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
They wear out in good their days, And in a moment [to] Sheol go down. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they tell God, ‘Get lost! We don't want anything to do with you.
And they say to God, 'Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.
15 Who does the Almighty think he is for us to serve him as slaves? What benefit is there for us if we pray to him?’
What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'
16 Such people believe they make their own fortune, but I don't accept their way of thinking.
Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does disaster come upon them? How often does God punish the wicked in his anger?
How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.
18 Are they blown along like straw in the wind? Does a tornado come in and carry them away?
They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
19 Some say, ‘God saves up people's punishment for their children.’ But I say, ‘God should punish those people themselves so that they can learn from it.’
God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him — and he knoweth.
20 Let them see their destruction themselves, and drink deeply from God's anger.
His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
21 For they don't care what happens to their families once they're dead.
For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
22 Can anyone teach God anything he doesn't already know, since he is the one who judges even heavenly beings?
To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
23 One person dies in good health, totally comfortable and secure.
This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
24 Their body is fat from eating well; their bones still strong.
His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.
25 Another dies after a miserable life without every experiencing happiness.
And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
26 Yet they are both buried in the same dust; they are treated alike in death, eaten by maggots.
Together — on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
27 Look, I know what you're thinking, and your schemes to do me wrong.
Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
28 You may ask me, ‘Where is the home of the great man? Where is the place where the wicked live?’
For ye say, 'Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent — The tabernacles of the wicked?'
29 Haven't you asked people who travel? Don't you pay attention to what they tell you?
Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
30 Wicked people are spared in times of disaster; they are rescued from the day of judgment.
That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
31 Who confronts them with their actions? Who pays them back for what they have done?
Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?
32 When they eventually die and are carried to the graveyard, their tomb is guarded. The earth of the grave softly covers them.
And he — to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
33 Everyone attends their funeral service; a huge procession of people comes to pay their last respects.
Sweet to him have been the clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there is no numbering.
34 Why do you try to comfort me with worthless nonsense? Your answers are just a pack of lies!”
And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
