Job 21
1 Then responded Job, and said: —
Job replied,
2 Hear ye patiently my words, and let this be your consolation:
“Please listen carefully to what I say—that would be one comfort you could give me.
3 Suffer me, that, I, may speak, and, after I have spoken, thou canst mock!
Bear with me; let me speak. After I've spoken you can resume mocking me.
4 Did, I, unto man, make my complaint? Wherefore, then, should my spirit not be impatient?
Am I complaining against people? Of course not. Why shouldn't I be impatient?
5 Turn round to me, and be astonished, and lay hand on mouth!
Just take a look at me. Aren't you appalled? Cover your mouth with your hand in shock!
6 When I call to mind, then am I dismayed, and there seizeth my flesh a shuddering: —
Every time I think of what's happened to me I am horrified and I shake all over with fear.
7 Wherefore do, lawless men, live, advance in years, even wax mighty in power?
Why do the wicked continue to live, to grow old and increasingly powerful?
8 Their seed, is established in their sight, along with them, yea their offspring, before their eyes;
Their children are with them; they watch their grandchildren grow up.
9 Their houses, are at peace, without dread, neither is, the rod of GOD, upon them;
They live in their homes in safety—they are not afraid. God does not use his rod to beat them.
10 His bull, covereth, and causeth not aversion, His cow safely calveth, and casteth not her young;
Their bulls always breed successfully; their cows give birth to calves and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth—like a flock—their young ones, and, their children, skip about for joy;
They send out their little ones like lambs to play; their children dance around.
12 They rejoice aloud as [with] timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;
They sing accompanied by the tambourine and lyre; they celebrate with the music of the flute.
13 They complete, in prosperity, their days, and, in a moment to hades, they sink down. (Sheol h7585)
They live out their lives contentedly, and go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol h7585)
14 Yet they said unto GOD, Depart from us, and, In the knowledge of thy ways, find we no pleasure.
Yet they tell God, ‘Get lost! We don't want anything to do with you.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? Or what shall we profit, that we should urge him?
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?’
16 Lo! not in their own hand, is their welfare, The counsel of lawless men, is far from me!
Such people believe they make their own fortune, but I don't accept their way of thinking.
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 snuffed out? How often does disaster come upon them? How often does God punish the wicked in his anger?
18 They become as straw before the wind, and as chaff, which the storm stealeth away.
Are they blown along like straw in the wind? Does a tornado come in and carry them away?
19 Shall, GOD, reserve, for his children, his sorrow? Let him recompense him so that he may know it;
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.’
20 His own eyes, shall see his misfortune, and, the wrath of the Almighty, shall he drink.
Let them see their destruction themselves, and drink deeply from God's anger.
21 For what shall be his pleasure in his house after him, when, the number of his months, is cut in twain?
For they don't care what happens to their families once they're dead.
22 Is it, to GOD, one can teach knowledge, seeing that, he, shall judge, them who are on high?
Can anyone teach God anything he doesn't already know, since he is the one who judges even heavenly beings?
23 This, man dieth, in the very perfection of his prosperity, wholly tranquil and secure;
One person dies in good health, totally comfortable and secure.
24 His veins, are filled with nourishment, and, the marrow of his bones, is fresh;
Their body is fat from eating well; their bones still strong.
25 Whereas, this other man, dieth, in bitterness of soul, and hath never tasted good fortune:
Another dies after a miserable life without every experiencing happiness.
26 Together, in the dust, they lie down, and, the worm, spreadeth a covering over them.
Yet they are both buried in the same dust; they are treated alike in death, eaten by maggots.
27 Lo! I know your plans, and the devices, wherewith ye would do me violence!
Look, I know what you're thinking, and your schemes to do me wrong.
28 For ye say, Where is the house of the noble-minded? And where the dwelling-tent of the lawless?
You may ask me, ‘Where is the home of the great man? Where is the place where the wicked live?’
29 Have ye not asked the passers-by in the way? And, their signs, can ye not recognise?
Haven't you asked people who travel? Don't you pay attention to what they tell you?
30 That, to the day of calamity, is the wicked reserved, to the day of indignant visitation, are they led.
Wicked people are spared in times of disaster; they are rescued from the day of judgment.
31 Who can declare—to his face—his way? And, what, he, hath done, who shall recompense to him?
Who confronts them with their actions? Who pays them back for what they have done?
32 Yet, he, to the graves, is borne, and, over the tomb, one keepeth watch;
When they eventually die and are carried to the graveyard, their tomb is guarded. The earth of the grave softly covers them.
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.
Everyone attends their funeral service; a huge procession of people comes to pay their last respects.
34 How then should ye comfort me with vanity, since, as for your replies, there lurketh, [in them] treachery?
Why do you try to comfort me with worthless nonsense? Your answers are just a pack of lies!”
