Job 21
1 Darauf antwortete Hiob und sprach:
Then Job replied,
2 Hört, hört, was ich zu sagen habe; das soll der Trost sein, den ihr mir gewährt!
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Erlaubet mir, daß ich rede; und wenn ich gesprochen habe, mögt ihr spotten!
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 Richte ich meine Klage an einen Menschen? Und warum sollte ich nicht ungeduldig sein?
“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 Wendet euch zu mir und erstaunet und leget die Hand auf den Mund!
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 Ja, wenn ich daran denke, so erschrecke ich, und Zittern erfaßt meinen Leib.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 Warum leben denn die Gottlosen, werden alt, groß und stark?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Ihr Same ist beständig vor ihnen, und ihre Sprößlinge wachsen vor ihren Augen um sie her.
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 Ihre Häuser sind in Frieden, ohne Furcht; die Rute Gottes schlägt sie nicht.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Ihr Ochse bespringt, und nicht umsonst; ihre Kühe kalben und sind nicht unfruchtbar.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Ihre Buben lassen sie ausziehen wie eine Schafherde, und ihre Kinder hüpfen herum.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Sie singen laut zur Pauke und Harfe und sind fröhlich beim Klang der Schalmei.
Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
13 Sie verbringen in Wohlfahrt ihre Tage und fahren in einem Augenblick ins Totenreich hinab. (Sheol h7585)
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 Und doch sprechen sie zu Gott: «Hebe dich weg von uns; der Erkenntnis deiner Wege fragen wir nichts nach!
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 Was sollten wir dem Allmächtigen dienen, und was nützt es uns, ihn anzurufen?»
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 Und doch steht ihr Glück nicht in ihrer Hand; darum sei der Rat der Gottlosen fern von mir!
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 Wie oft erlischt die Leuchte der Gottlosen und ereilt sie ihr Schicksal? Teilt Er ihnen Schmerzen zu in seinem Zorn?
(“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 Werden sie wie Stroh vor dem Wind und wie Spreu, die der Sturm entführt?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Spart Gott sein Unglück für seine Kinder auf? Ihm selbst sollte er vergelten, so daß er es weiß!
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 Seine eigenen Augen sollen sein Verderben sehen, und den Zorn des Allmächtigen soll er selbst trinken!
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Denn was für Freude wird er an seiner Nachkommenschaft haben, wenn die Zahl seiner Monde abgeschnitten ist?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 Kann man Gott Erkenntnis lehren, da er doch die Himmlischen richtet?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Der eine stirbt im Vollbesitz seines Glücks, vollkommen ruhig und sorglos;
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 seine Tröge fließen über von Milch, und das Mark seiner Gebeine wird getränkt.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Der andere aber stirbt mit betrübter Seele und hat nie Gutes geschmeckt:
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Gemeinsam liegen sie im Staube, und Gewürm bedeckt sie beide.
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 Seht, ich kenne eure Gedanken und die Anschläge, mit denen ihr mir Unrecht tut.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Denn ihr denkt: Wo ist das Haus des Tyrannen hingekommen? Und wo ist das Zelt, darin die Gottlosen wohnten?
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 Habt ihr euch nicht bei denen erkundigt, die des Weges zogen? Und könnt ihr ihre Zeichen nicht anerkennen,
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 daß der Böse am Tage des Unglücks verschont bleibt und dem Tage des Zorns entgeht?
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 Wer kann ihm ins Gesicht seinen Wandel vorhalten, und sein Tun, wer vergilt es ihm?
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 Doch er wird zu Grabe getragen, und über seinem Grabhügel hält man Wache.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Süß sind ihm des Grabes Schollen; hinter ihm her zieht jedermann, und vor ihm her eine unzählbare Schar.
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 Was tröstet ihr mich denn so vergeblich? Eure Antworten sind nichts als Treulosigkeit!
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
