Job 21
1 Then Job replied,
But Job answered and said:
2 “Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
Hear attentively my words, And let this be your consolation.
3 Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
Bear with me, that I may speak; And after I have spoken, mock on!
4 “It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
Is my complaint concerning man? Why then should I not be angry?
5 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]?
Look upon me, and be astonished, And lay your hand upon your mouth!
6 When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
When I think of it, I am confounded; Trembling taketh hold of my flesh.
7 “[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
Why is it that the wicked live, Grow old, yea, become mighty in substance?
8 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.
Their children are established in their sight with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
9 Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
Their houses are in peace, without fear, And the rod of God cometh not upon them.
10 Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
11 Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.
12 Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
13 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)
They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment go down to the under-world. (Sheol h7585)
14 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!
And yet they say unto God, “Depart from us! We desire not the knowledge of thy ways!
15 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]’
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what will it profit us, if we pray to him?”
16 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.
[[Ye say, ]] “Lo! their prosperity is not secure in their hands! Far from me be the conduct of the wicked!”
17 (“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]
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?
18 [He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
How often are they as stubble before the wind, Or as chaff, which the whirlwind carrieth away?
19 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].
“But” [[say ye]] “God layeth up his iniquity for his children.” Let him requite the offender, and let him feel it!
20 I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty!
21 After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
For what concern hath he for his household after him, When the number of his own months is completed?
22 “Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
Who then shall impart knowledge to God, —To him that judgeth the highest?
23 Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
One dieth in the fulness of his prosperity, Being wholly at ease and quiet;
24 Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
His sides are full of fat, And his bones moist with marrow.
25 Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
Another dieth in bitterness of soul, And hath not tasted pleasure.
26 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].
Alike they lie down in the dust, And the worms cover them.
27 “Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices by which ye wrong me.
28 You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
For ye say, “Where is the house of the oppressor, And where the dwelling-places of the wicked?”
29 But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
Have ye never inquired of travellers, And do ye not know their tokens,
30 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]?
That the wicked is spared in the day of destruction, And that he is borne to his grave in the day of wrath?
31 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.
Who will charge him with his conduct to his face, And who will requite him for the evil he hath done?
32 The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
Even this man is borne with honor to the grave; Yea, he watcheth over his tomb.
33 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.
Sweet to him are the sods of the valley: And all men move after him, As multitudes without number before him.
34 “So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
Why then do ye offer your vain consolations? Your answers continue false.
