Job 21
1 But Job answered and said:
Then Job replied,
2 Hear attentively my words, And let this be your consolation.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Bear with me, that I may speak; And after I have spoken, mock on!
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Is my complaint concerning man? Why then should I not be angry?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Look upon me, and be astonished, And lay your hand upon your mouth!
Look at me! Does what you see not cause you to be appalled and to put your hands over your mouths [and say no more]?
6 When I think of it, I am confounded; Trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Why is it that the wicked live, Grow old, yea, become mighty in substance?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Their children are established in their sight with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
They have their children around them, and they watch them while they [grow up and] start to live in their own houses, and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Their houses are in peace, without fear, And the rod of God cometh not upon them.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
Wicked people enjoy having good things all the time that they are alive, and they die quietly/peacefully and go down to the place of the dead. (Sheol h7585)
14 And yet they say unto God, “Depart from us! We desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
While they are alive, they say to God, ‘Do not bother us; we do not want to know how you want us to conduct our lives!
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what will it profit us, if we pray to him?”
Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? (What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.) [RHQ]’
16 [[Ye say, ]] “Lo! their prosperity is not secure in their hands! Far from me be the conduct of the wicked!”
Think about it: Wicked people think that it is because of what they have done that they have become prosperous, but I do not understand why they think like that.
17 How often is it, that the lamp of the wicked is put out? And that destruction cometh upon them, And that He dispenseth to them tribulations in his anger?
(“How often does it happen that wicked people die [MET] before they are old?/Very seldom do wicked people die [MET] before they are old.) [RHQ] (Do they ever experience disasters?/They seldom experience disasters.) [RHQ] (Does God ever punish them because of being very angry with them?/God never punishes them because of being very angry with them.) [RHQ]
18 How often are they as stubble before the wind, Or as chaff, which the whirlwind carrieth away?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 “But” [[say ye]] “God layeth up his iniquity for his children.” Let him requite the offender, and let him feel it!
You say, ‘When people have committed sins, God waits and punishes their children because of those sins;’ but [I say that] God should punish those who sin, [not their children, ] in order that the sinners will know [that it is because of their own sins that they are being punished].
20 Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty!
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 For what concern hath he for his household after him, When the number of his own months is completed?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Who then shall impart knowledge to God, —To him that judgeth the highest?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 One dieth in the fulness of his prosperity, Being wholly at ease and quiet;
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 His sides are full of fat, And his bones moist with marrow.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Another dieth in bitterness of soul, And hath not tasted pleasure.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Alike they lie down in the dust, And the worms cover them.
But both rich and poor people die and are buried, and maggots eat their bodies. [Everyone dies, so it is clear that dying is not always the punishment for being wicked].
27 Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices by which ye wrong me.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 For ye say, “Where is the house of the oppressor, And where the dwelling-places of the wicked?”
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Have ye never inquired of travellers, And do ye not know their tokens,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction, And that he is borne to his grave in the day of wrath?
that wicked people usually do not suffer at the time when there are great disasters; that wicked people are the ones who are rescued when God is angry [and punishes people] [MTY]?
31 Who will charge him with his conduct to his face, And who will requite him for the evil he hath done?
There is no one [RHQ] who accuses wicked people, and there is no one who (pays them back/gives them the punishment that they deserve) for all the evil things that they have done.
32 Even this man is borne with honor to the grave; Yea, he watcheth over his tomb.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Sweet to him are the sods of the valley: And all men move after him, As multitudes without number before him.
A huge number [HYP] of people go to the grave site. Some go in front of the procession and some come behind. And the clods of dirt thrown on the graves of those wicked people who have died are like a nice blanket.
34 Why then do ye offer your vain consolations? Your answers continue false.
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
