Job 21
1 Then responded Job, and said: —
And Job answered and said,
2 Hear ye patiently my words, and let this be your consolation:
Hear attentively my speech, and let this replace your consolations.
3 Suffer me, that, I, may speak, and, after I have spoken, thou canst mock!
Suffer me and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock on!
4 Did, I, unto man, make my complaint? Wherefore, then, should my spirit not be impatient?
As for me, is my complaint to a man? or wherefore should not my spirit be impatient?
5 Turn round to me, and be astonished, and lay hand on mouth!
Mark me, and be astonished, and lay the hand upon the mouth.
6 When I call to mind, then am I dismayed, and there seizeth my flesh a shuddering: —
Even when I think [thereon], I am affrighted, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
7 Wherefore do, lawless men, live, advance in years, even wax mighty in power?
Wherefore do the wicked live, grow old, yea, become mighty in power?
8 Their seed, is established in their sight, along with them, yea their offspring, before their eyes;
Their seed is established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses, are at peace, without dread, neither is, the rod of GOD, upon them;
Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
10 His bull, covereth, and causeth not aversion, His cow safely calveth, and casteth not her young;
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
11 They send forth—like a flock—their young ones, and, their children, skip about for joy;
They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
12 They rejoice aloud as [with] timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;
They shout to the tambour and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
13 They complete, in prosperity, their days, and, in a moment to hades, they sink down. (Sheol h7585)
They spend their days in prosperity, and in a moment go down to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they said unto GOD, Depart from us, and, In the knowledge of thy ways, find we no pleasure.
And they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? Or what shall we profit, that we should urge him?
What is the Almighty that we should serve him? and what are we profited if we pray unto him?
16 Lo! not in their own hand, is their welfare, The counsel of lawless men, is far from me!
Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked be far from me!
17 How oft, the lamp of the lawless, goeth out, and their calamity, cometh upon them, Sorrows, apportioneth he in his anger;
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, and cometh their calamity upon them? Doth he distribute sorrows [to them] in his anger?
18 They become as straw before the wind, and as chaff, which the storm stealeth away.
Do they become as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
19 Shall, GOD, reserve, for his children, his sorrow? Let him recompense him so that he may know it;
God layeth up [the punishment of] his iniquity for his children; he rewardeth him, and he shall know [it]:
20 His own eyes, shall see his misfortune, and, the wrath of the Almighty, shall he drink.
His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the fury of the Almighty.
21 For what shall be his pleasure in his house after him, when, the number of his months, is cut in twain?
For what pleasure should he have in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?
22 Is it, to GOD, one can teach knowledge, seeing that, he, shall judge, them who are on high?
Can any teach God knowledge? And he it is that judgeth those that are high.
23 This, man dieth, in the very perfection of his prosperity, wholly tranquil and secure;
One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet;
24 His veins, are filled with nourishment, and, the marrow of his bones, is fresh;
His sides are full of fat, and the marrow of his bones is moistened;
25 Whereas, this other man, dieth, in bitterness of soul, and hath never tasted good fortune:
And another dieth in bitterness of soul, and hath not tasted good:
26 Together, in the dust, they lie down, and, the worm, spreadeth a covering over them.
Together they lie down in the dust, and the worms cover them.
27 Lo! I know your plans, and the devices, wherewith ye would do me violence!
Lo, I know your thoughts, and the devices ye wrongfully imagine against me.
28 For ye say, Where is the house of the noble-minded? And where the dwelling-tent of the lawless?
For ye say, Where is the house of the noble? and where the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
29 Have ye not asked the passers-by in the way? And, their signs, can ye not recognise?
Have ye not asked the wayfarers? and do ye not regard their tokens:
30 That, to the day of calamity, is the wicked reserved, to the day of indignant visitation, are they led.
That the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity? They are led forth to the day of wrath.
31 Who can declare—to his face—his way? And, what, he, hath done, who shall recompense to him?
Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 Yet, he, to the graves, is borne, and, over the tomb, one keepeth watch;
Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.
33 Pleasant to him are the mounds of the torrent-bed, —and, after him, doth every man march, as, before him, there were without number.
The clods of the valley are sweet unto him; and every man followeth suit after him, as there were innumerable before him.
34 How then should ye comfort me with vanity, since, as for your replies, there lurketh, [in them] treachery?
How then comfort ye me in vain? Your answers remain perfidious.
