Job 21
1 Job replied,
| ויען איוב ויאמר |
2 “Please listen carefully to what I say—that would be one comfort you could give me.
| שמעו שמוע מלתי ותהי-זאת תנחומתיכם |
3 Bear with me; let me speak. After I've spoken you can resume mocking me.
| שאוני ואנכי אדבר ואחר דברי תלעיג |
4 Am I complaining against people? Of course not. Why shouldn't I be impatient?
| האנכי לאדם שיחי ואם-מדוע לא-תקצר רוחי |
5 Just take a look at me. Aren't you appalled? Cover your mouth with your hand in shock!
| פנו-אלי והשמו ושימו יד על-פה |
6 Every time I think of what's happened to me I am horrified and I shake all over with fear.
| ואם-זכרתי ונבהלתי ואחז בשרי פלצות |
7 Why do the wicked continue to live, to grow old and increasingly powerful?
| מדוע רשעים יחיו עתקו גם-גברו חיל |
8 Their children are with them; they watch their grandchildren grow up.
| זרעם נכון לפניהם עמם וצאצאיהם לעיניהם |
9 They live in their homes in safety—they are not afraid. God does not use his rod to beat them.
| בתיהם שלום מפחד ולא שבט אלוה עליהם |
10 Their bulls always breed successfully; their cows give birth to calves and do not miscarry.
| שורו עבר ולא יגעל תפלט פרתו ולא תשכל |
11 They send out their little ones like lambs to play; their children dance around.
| ישלחו כצאן עויליהם וילדיהם ירקדון |
12 They sing accompanied by the tambourine and lyre; they celebrate with the music of the flute.
| ישאו כתף וכנור וישמחו לקול עוגב |
| יבלו (יכלו) בטוב ימיהם וברגע שאול יחתו (Sheol h7585) |
14 Yet they tell God, ‘Get lost! We don't want anything to do with you.
| ויאמרו לאל סור ממנו ודעת דרכיך לא חפצנו |
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?’
| מה-שדי כי-נעבדנו ומה-נועיל כי נפגע-בו |
16 Such people believe they make their own fortune, but I don't accept their way of thinking.
| הן לא בידם טובם עצת רשעים רחקה מני |
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?
| כמה נר-רשעים ידעך-- ויבא עלימו אידם חבלים יחלק באפו |
18 Are they blown along like straw in the wind? Does a tornado come in and carry them away?
| יהיו כתבן לפני-רוח וכמץ גנבתו סופה |
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.’
| אלוה יצפן-לבניו אונו ישלם אליו וידע |
20 Let them see their destruction themselves, and drink deeply from God's anger.
| יראו עינו כידו ומחמת שדי ישתה |
21 For they don't care what happens to their families once they're dead.
| כי מה-חפצו בביתו אחריו ומספר חדשיו חצצו |
22 Can anyone teach God anything he doesn't already know, since he is the one who judges even heavenly beings?
| הלאל ילמד-דעת והוא רמים ישפוט |
23 One person dies in good health, totally comfortable and secure.
| זה--ימות בעצם תמו כלו שלאנן ושליו |
24 Their body is fat from eating well; their bones still strong.
| עטיניו מלאו חלב ומח עצמותיו ישקה |
25 Another dies after a miserable life without every experiencing happiness.
| וזה--ימות בנפש מרה ולא-אכל בטובה |
26 Yet they are both buried in the same dust; they are treated alike in death, eaten by maggots.
| יחד על-עפר ישכבו ורמה תכסה עליהם |
27 Look, I know what you're thinking, and your schemes to do me wrong.
| הן ידעתי מחשבותיכם ומזמות עלי תחמסו |
28 You may ask me, ‘Where is the home of the great man? Where is the place where the wicked live?’
| כי תאמרו איה בית-נדיב ואיה אהל משכנות רשעים |
29 Haven't you asked people who travel? Don't you pay attention to what they tell you?
| הלא שאלתם עוברי דרך ואתתם לא תנכרו |
30 Wicked people are spared in times of disaster; they are rescued from the day of judgment.
| כי ליום איד יחשך רע ליום עברות יובלו |
31 Who confronts them with their actions? Who pays them back for what they have done?
| מי-יגיד על-פניו דרכו והוא-עשה מי ישלם-לו |
32 When they eventually die and are carried to the graveyard, their tomb is guarded. The earth of the grave softly covers them.
| והוא לקברות יובל ועל-גדיש ישקוד |
33 Everyone attends their funeral service; a huge procession of people comes to pay their last respects.
| מתקו-לו רגבי-נחל ואחריו כל-אדם ימשוך ולפניו אין מספר |
34 Why do you try to comfort me with worthless nonsense? Your answers are just a pack of lies!”
| ואיך תנחמוני הבל ותשובתיכם נשאר-מעל |
