Job 21
1 And Job answereth and saith: —
Then responded Job, and said: —
2 Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.
Hear ye patiently my words, and let this be your consolation:
3 Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking — ye may deride.
Suffer me, that, I, may speak, and, after I have spoken, thou canst mock!
4 I — to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
Did, I, unto man, make my complaint? Wherefore, then, should my spirit not be impatient?
5 Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
Turn round to me, and be astonished, and lay hand on mouth!
6 Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
When I call to mind, then am I dismayed, and there seizeth my flesh a shuddering: —
7 Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.
Wherefore do, lawless men, live, advance in years, even wax mighty in power?
8 Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
Their seed, is established in their sight, along with them, yea their offspring, before their eyes;
9 Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.
Their houses, are at peace, without dread, neither is, the rod of GOD, upon them;
10 His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
His bull, covereth, and causeth not aversion, His cow safely calveth, and casteth not her young;
11 They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,
They send forth—like a flock—their young ones, and, their children, skip about for joy;
12 They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
They rejoice aloud as [with] timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;
They complete, in prosperity, their days, and, in a moment to hades, they sink down. (Sheol h7585)
14 And they say to God, 'Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.
Yet they said unto GOD, Depart from us, and, In the knowledge of thy ways, find we no pleasure.
15 What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? Or what shall we profit, that we should urge him?
16 Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
Lo! not in their own hand, is their welfare, The counsel of lawless men, is far from me!
17 How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.
How oft, the lamp of the lawless, goeth out, and their calamity, cometh upon them, Sorrows, apportioneth he in his anger;
18 They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
They become as straw before the wind, and as chaff, which the storm stealeth away.
19 God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him — and he knoweth.
Shall, GOD, reserve, for his children, his sorrow? Let him recompense him so that he may know it;
20 His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
His own eyes, shall see his misfortune, and, the wrath of the Almighty, shall he drink.
21 For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
For what shall be his pleasure in his house after him, when, the number of his months, is cut in twain?
22 To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
Is it, to GOD, one can teach knowledge, seeing that, he, shall judge, them who are on high?
23 This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
This, man dieth, in the very perfection of his prosperity, wholly tranquil and secure;
24 His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.
His veins, are filled with nourishment, and, the marrow of his bones, is fresh;
25 And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
Whereas, this other man, dieth, in bitterness of soul, and hath never tasted good fortune:
26 Together — on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
Together, in the dust, they lie down, and, the worm, spreadeth a covering over them.
27 Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
Lo! I know your plans, and the devices, wherewith ye would do me violence!
28 For ye say, 'Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent — The tabernacles of the wicked?'
For ye say, Where is the house of the noble-minded? And where the dwelling-tent of the lawless?
29 Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
Have ye not asked the passers-by in the way? And, their signs, can ye not recognise?
30 That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
That, to the day of calamity, is the wicked reserved, to the day of indignant visitation, are they led.
31 Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?
Who can declare—to his face—his way? And, what, he, hath done, who shall recompense to him?
32 And he — to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
Yet, he, to the graves, is borne, and, over the tomb, one keepeth watch;
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.
Pleasant to him are the mounds of the torrent-bed, —and, after him, doth every man march, as, before him, there were without number.
34 And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
How then should ye comfort me with vanity, since, as for your replies, there lurketh, [in them] treachery?
