איוב 21

1 ויען איוב ויאמר׃

Then Job replied,

2 שמעו שמוע מלתי ותהי זאת תנחומתיכם׃

“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.

3 שאוני ואנכי אדבר ואחר דברי תלעיג׃

Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.

4 האנכי לאדם שיחי ואם מדוע לא תקצר רוחי׃

“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 פנו אלי והשמו ושימו יד על פה׃

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 ואם זכרתי ונבהלתי ואחז בשרי פלצות׃

When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.

7 מדוע רשעים יחיו עתקו גם גברו חיל׃

“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’

8 זרעם נכון לפניהם עמם וצאצאיהם לעיניהם׃

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 בתיהם שלום מפחד ולא שבט אלוה עליהם׃

Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.

10 שורו עבר ולא יגעל תפלט פרתו ולא תשכל׃

Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.

11 ישלחו כצאן עויליהם וילדיהם ירקדון׃

Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].

12 ישאו כתף וכנור וישמחו לקול עוגב׃

Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.

13 יבלו בטוב ימיהם וברגע שאול יחתו׃ (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 ויאמרו לאל סור ממנו ודעת דרכיך לא חפצנו׃

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 מה שדי כי נעבדנו ומה נועיל כי נפגע בו׃

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 הן לא בידם טובם עצת רשעים רחקה מני׃

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 כמה נר רשעים ידעך ויבא עלימו אידם חבלים יחלק באפו׃

(“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 יהיו כתבן לפני רוח וכמץ גנבתו סופה׃

[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.

19 אלוה יצפן לבניו אונו ישלם אליו וידע׃

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 יראו עינו כידו ומחמת שדי ישתה׃

I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.

21 כי מה חפצו בביתו אחריו ומספר חדשיו חצצו׃

After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].

22 הלאל ילמד דעת והוא רמים ישפוט׃

“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]

23 זה ימות בעצם תמו כלו שלאנן ושליו׃

Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.

24 עטיניו מלאו חלב ומח עצמותיו ישקה׃

Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.

25 וזה ימות בנפש מרה ולא אכל בטובה׃

Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.

26 יחד על עפר ישכבו ורמה תכסה עליהם׃

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 הן ידעתי מחשבותיכם ומזמות עלי תחמסו׃

“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.

28 כי תאמרו איה בית נדיב ואיה אהל משכנות רשעים׃

You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’

29 הלא שאלתם עוברי דרך ואתתם לא תנכרו׃

But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,

30 כי ליום איד יחשך רע ליום עברות יובלו׃

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 מי יגיד על פניו דרכו והוא עשה מי ישלם לו׃

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 והוא לקברות יובל ועל גדיש ישקוד׃

The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.

33 מתקו לו רגבי נחל ואחריו כל אדם ימשוך ולפניו אין מספר׃

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 ואיך תנחמוני הבל ותשובתיכם נשאר מעל׃

“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”