Job 21
1 Respondens autem Job, dixit:
Then Job answered, and said:
2 [Audite, quæso, sermones meos, et agite pœnitentiam.
Hear, I beseech you, my words, and do penance.
3 Sustinete me, et ego loquar: et post mea, si videbitur, verba, ridete.
Suffer me, and I will speak, and after, if you please, laugh at my words.
4 Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est, ut merito non debeam contristari?
Is my debate against man, that I should not have just reason to be troubled?
5 Attendite me et obstupescite, et superponite digitum ori vestro.
Hearken to me and be astonished, and lay your finger on your mouth.
6 Et ego, quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco, et concutit carnem meam tremor.
As for me, when I remember, I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
7 Quare ergo impii vivunt, sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis?
Why then do the wicked live, are they advanced, and strengthened with riches?
8 Semen eorum permanet coram eis: propinquorum turba et nepotum in conspectu eorum.
Their seed continueth before them, a multitude of kinsmen, and of children’s children in their sight.
9 Domus eorum securæ sunt et pacatæ, et non est virga Dei super illos.
Their houses are secure and peaceable, and the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit: vacca peperit, et non est privata fœtu suo.
Their cattle have conceived, and failed not: their cow has calved, and is not deprived of her fruit.
11 Egrediuntur quasi greges parvuli eorum, et infantes eorum exultant lusibus.
Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children dance and play.
12 Tenent tympanum et citharam, et gaudent ad sonitum organi.
They take the timbrel, and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell. (Sheol h7585)
14 Qui dixerunt Deo: Recede a nobis, et scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus.
Who have said to God: Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15 Quis est Omnipotens, ut serviamus ei? et quid nobis prodest si oraverimus illum?
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what doth it profit us if we pray to him?
16 Verumtamen quia non sunt in manu eorum bona sua, consilium impiorum longe sit a me.
Yet because their good things are not in their hand, may the counsel of the wicked be far from me.
17 Quoties lucerna impiorum extinguetur, et superveniet eis inundatio, et dolores dividet furoris sui?
How often shall the lamp of the wicked be put out, and a deluge come upon them, and he shall distribute the sorrows of his wrath?
18 Erunt sicut paleæ ante faciem venti, et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.
They shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth.
19 Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris, et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet.
God shall lay up the sorrow of the father for his children: and when he shall repay, then shall he know.
20 Videbunt oculi ejus interfectionem suam, et de furore Omnipotentis bibet.
His eyes shall see his own destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 Quid enim ad eum pertinet de domo sua post se, et si numerus mensium ejus dimidietur?
For what is it to him what befalleth his house after him: and if the number of his months be diminished by one half?
22 Numquid Deus docebit quispiam scientiam, qui excelsos judicat?
Shall any one teach God knowledge, who judgeth those that are high?
23 Iste moritur robustus et sanus, dives et felix:
One man dieth strong, and hale, rich and happy.
24 viscera ejus plena sunt adipe, et medullis ossa illius irrigantur:
His bowels are full of fat, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 alius vero moritur in amaritudine animæ absque ullis opibus:
But another dieth in bitterness of soul without any riches:
26 et tamen simul in pulvere dormient, et vermes operient eos.
And yet they shall sleep together in the dust, and worms shall cover them.
27 Certe novi cogitationes vestras, et sententias contra me iniquas.
Surely I know your thoughts, and your unjust judgments against me.
28 Dicitis enim: Ubi est domus principis? et ubi tabernacula impiorum?
For you say: Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29 Interrogate quemlibet de viatoribus, et hæc eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis:
Ask any one of them that go by the way, and you shall perceive that he knoweth these same things.
30 quia in diem perditionis servatur malus, et ad diem furoris ducetur.
Because the wicked man is reserved to the day of destruction, and he shall be brought to the day of wrath.
31 Quis arguet coram eo viam ejus? et quæ fecit, quis reddet illi?
Who shall reprove his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 Ipse ad sepulchra ducetur, et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.
He shall be brought to the graves, and shall watch in the heap of the dead.
33 Dulcis fuit glareis Cocyti, et post se omnem hominem trahet, et ante se innumerabiles.
He hath been acceptable to the gravel of Cocytus, and he shall draw every man after him, and there are innumerable before him.
34 Quomodo igitur consolamini me frustra, cum responsio vestra repugnare ostensa sit veritati?]
How then do ye comfort me in vain, whereas your answer is shewn to be repugnant to truth?
