Job 21
1 And Job answereth and saith: —
Then Job replied,
2 Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking — ye may deride.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 I — to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
“It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
5 Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
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]?
6 Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
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.
9 Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
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)
14 And they say to God, 'Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.
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!
15 What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'
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]’
16 Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
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.
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 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]
18 They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him — and he knoweth.
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].
20 His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Together — on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
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].
27 Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 For ye say, 'Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent — The tabernacles of the wicked?'
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
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]?
31 Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?
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.
32 And he — to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
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.
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.
34 And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
