Job 21
1 And Job answereth and saith: —
Then Job answered:
2 Hear ye diligently my word, 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 — ye may deride.
Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 I — to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
5 Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
6 Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, 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 upon them.
Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
10 His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
11 They send forth as a flock their sucklings, 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 an organ.
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 Thy 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 Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath 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 oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth 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 hurricane hath stolen away,
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
19 God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him — and he knoweth.
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 of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
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 To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
23 This [one] dieth 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 his bones doth moisten.
His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
25 And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
26 Together — on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
27 Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 For ye say, 'Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent — The tabernacles 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 ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
30 That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
31 Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?
Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
32 And he — to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
33 Sweet to him have been the clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there is no numbering.
The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
34 And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
