Job 21
1 Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
Then Job answered:
2 Audite quaeso sermones meos, et agite poenitentiam.
“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me.
3 Sustinete me, et ego loquar, et post mea, si videbitur, verba ridete.
Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 Numquid contra hominem disputatio mea est, ut merito non debeam contristari?
Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient?
5 Attendite me, et obstupescite, et superponite digitum ori vestro:
Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth.
6 Et ego quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco, et concutit carnem meam tremor.
When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
7 Quare ergo impii vivunt, sublevati sunt, confortatique divitiis?
Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
8 Semen eorum permanet coram eis, propinquorum turba, et nepotum in conspectu eorum.
Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Domus eorum securae sunt et pacatae, et non est virga Dei super illos.
Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
10 Bos eorum concepit, et non abortivit: vacca peperit, et non est privata foetu suo.
Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
11 Egrediuntur quasi greges parvuli eorum, et infantes eorum exultant lusibus.
They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
12 Tenent tympanum, et citharam, et gaudent ad sonitum organi.
singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. (Sheol h7585)
14 Qui dixerunt Deo: Recede a nobis, et scientiam viarum tuarum nolumus.
Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your 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 would we gain if we pray to Him?’
16 Verumtamen quia non sunt in manu eorum bona sua, consilium impiorum longe sit a me.
Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
17 Quoties lucerna impiorum extinguetur, et superveniet eis inundatio, et dolores dividet furoris sui?
How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction?
18 Erunt sicut paleae ante faciem venti, et sicut favilla quam turbo dispergit.
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
19 Deus servabit filiis illius dolorem patris: et cum reddiderit, tunc sciet.
It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it.
20 Videbunt oculi eius interfectionem suam, et de furore Omnipotentis bibet.
Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty.
21 Quid enim ad eum pertinet de domo sua post se? et si numerus mensium eius dimidietur?
For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
22 Numquid Deus docebit quispiam scientiam, qui excelsos iudicat?
Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
23 Iste moritur robustus et sanus, dives et felix.
One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease.
24 Viscera eius plena sunt adipe, et medullis ossa illius irrigantur:
His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow.
25 Alius vero moritur in amaritudine animae absque ullis opibus:
Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity.
26 Et tamen simul in pulvere dormient, et vermes operient eos.
But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.
27 Certe novi cogitationes vestras, et sententias contra me iniquas.
Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 Dicitis enim: Ubi est domus principis? et ubi tabernacula impiorum?
For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’
29 Interrogate quemlibet de viatoribus, et haec eadem illum intelligere cognoscetis:
Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports?
30 Quia in diem perditionis servatur malus, et ad diem furoris ducetur.
Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath.
31 Quis arguet coram eo viam eius? et quae fecit, quis reddet illi?
Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
32 Ipse ad sepulchra ducetur, et in congerie mortuorum vigilabit.
He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
33 Dulcis fuit glareis Cocyti, et post se omnem hominem trahet, et ante se innumerabiles.
The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number.
34 Quomodo igitur consolamini me frustra, cum responsio vestra repugnare ostensa sit veritati?
So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
