Job 21
1 And Job answers and says:
Then Job answered:
2 “Hear my word diligently, And this is your consolation.
“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
3 Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking—you may deride.
Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 [Is] my complaint [against] man? And if [so], why may my temper not become short?
Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
5 Turn to me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
6 Indeed, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh has taken fright.
When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
7 Why do the wicked live? They have become old, Indeed, they have been mighty in wealth.
Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
8 Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God on them.
Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
10 His bullock breeds without fail. His cow brings forth safely, and does not miscarry.
Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth their sucklings as a flock, And their children skip,
They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
12 They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of a pipe.
singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol h7585)
14 And they say to God, Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Your ways We have not desired.
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.
15 What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
16 Behold, their good [is] not in their hand (The counsel of the wicked Has been far from me).
Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And their calamity comes on them? He apportions pangs in His anger.
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
18 They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a windstorm has stolen away,
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
19 God lays up for his sons his sorrow, He gives repayment to him—and he knows.
It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
20 His own eyes see his destruction, And he drinks of the wrath of the Mighty.
Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
22 Does [one] teach knowledge to God, Since He judges [those] on high?
Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
23 This [one] dies in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
24 His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow moistens his bones.
His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
25 And this [one] dies with a bitter soul, And has not eaten with gladness.
Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
26 Together they lie down on the dust, And the worm covers them over.
But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
27 Behold, I have known your thoughts, And the schemes against me you do wrongfully.
Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 For you say, Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent—the dwelling places of the wicked?
For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
29 Have you not asked those passing by the way? And do you not know their signs?
Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
30 That the wicked is spared to a day of calamity. They are brought to a day of wrath.
Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
31 Who declares his way to his face? And [for] that which he has done, Who gives repayment to him?
Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
32 And he is brought to the graves, And a watch is kept over the heap.
He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
33 The clods of the valley have been sweet to him, And he draws every man after him, And there is no numbering before him.
The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
34 And how do you comfort me [with] vanity, And trespass has been left in your answers?”
So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
