Job 21
1 Job replied,
Respondens autem Job, dixit:
2 “Please listen carefully to what I say—that would be one comfort you could give me.
[Audite, quæso, sermones meos, et agite pœnitentiam.
3 Bear with me; let me speak. After I've spoken you can resume mocking me.
Sustinete me, et ego loquar: et post mea, si videbitur, verba, ridete.
4 Am I complaining against people? Of course not. Why shouldn't I be impatient?
Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est, ut merito non debeam contristari?
5 Just take a look at me. Aren't you appalled? Cover your mouth with your hand in shock!
Attendite me et obstupescite, et superponite digitum ori vestro.
6 Every time I think of what's happened to me I am horrified and I shake all over with fear.
Et ego, quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco, et concutit carnem meam tremor.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live, to grow old and increasingly powerful?
Quare ergo impii vivunt, sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis?
8 Their children are with them; they watch their grandchildren grow up.
Semen eorum permanet coram eis: propinquorum turba et nepotum in conspectu eorum.
9 They live in their homes in safety—they are not afraid. God does not use his rod to beat them.
Domus eorum securæ sunt et pacatæ, et non est virga Dei super illos.
10 Their bulls always breed successfully; their cows give birth to calves and do not miscarry.
Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit: vacca peperit, et non est privata fœtu suo.
11 They send out their little ones like lambs to play; their children dance around.
Egrediuntur quasi greges parvuli eorum, et infantes eorum exultant lusibus.
12 They sing accompanied by the tambourine and lyre; they celebrate with the music of the flute.
Tenent tympanum et citharam, et gaudent ad sonitum organi.
Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they tell God, ‘Get lost! We don't want anything to do with you.
Qui dixerunt Deo: Recede a nobis, et scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus.
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?’
Quis est Omnipotens, ut serviamus ei? et quid nobis prodest si oraverimus illum?
16 Such people believe they make their own fortune, but I don't accept their way of thinking.
Verumtamen quia non sunt in manu eorum bona sua, consilium impiorum longe sit a 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?
Quoties lucerna impiorum extinguetur, et superveniet eis inundatio, et dolores dividet furoris sui?
18 Are they blown along like straw in the wind? Does a tornado come in and carry them away?
Erunt sicut paleæ ante faciem venti, et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.
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.’
Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris, et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet.
20 Let them see their destruction themselves, and drink deeply from God's anger.
Videbunt oculi ejus interfectionem suam, et de furore Omnipotentis bibet.
21 For they don't care what happens to their families once they're dead.
Quid enim ad eum pertinet de domo sua post se, et si numerus mensium ejus dimidietur?
22 Can anyone teach God anything he doesn't already know, since he is the one who judges even heavenly beings?
Numquid Deus docebit quispiam scientiam, qui excelsos judicat?
23 One person dies in good health, totally comfortable and secure.
Iste moritur robustus et sanus, dives et felix:
24 Their body is fat from eating well; their bones still strong.
viscera ejus plena sunt adipe, et medullis ossa illius irrigantur:
25 Another dies after a miserable life without every experiencing happiness.
alius vero moritur in amaritudine animæ absque ullis opibus:
26 Yet they are both buried in the same dust; they are treated alike in death, eaten by maggots.
et tamen simul in pulvere dormient, et vermes operient eos.
27 Look, I know what you're thinking, and your schemes to do me wrong.
Certe novi cogitationes vestras, et sententias contra me iniquas.
28 You may ask me, ‘Where is the home of the great man? Where is the place where the wicked live?’
Dicitis enim: Ubi est domus principis? et ubi tabernacula impiorum?
29 Haven't you asked people who travel? Don't you pay attention to what they tell you?
Interrogate quemlibet de viatoribus, et hæc eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis:
30 Wicked people are spared in times of disaster; they are rescued from the day of judgment.
quia in diem perditionis servatur malus, et ad diem furoris ducetur.
31 Who confronts them with their actions? Who pays them back for what they have done?
Quis arguet coram eo viam ejus? et quæ fecit, quis reddet illi?
32 When they eventually die and are carried to the graveyard, their tomb is guarded. The earth of the grave softly covers them.
Ipse ad sepulchra ducetur, et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.
33 Everyone attends their funeral service; a huge procession of people comes to pay their last respects.
Dulcis fuit glareis Cocyti, et post se omnem hominem trahet, et ante se innumerabiles.
34 Why do you try to comfort me with worthless nonsense? Your answers are just a pack of lies!”
Quomodo igitur consolamini me frustra, cum responsio vestra repugnare ostensa sit veritati?]
