Job 21
1 Job contestó:
Then Job replied,
2 “Por favor, escuchen atentamente lo que digo; eso sería un consuelo que podrían darme.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Tengan paciencia conmigo; déjenme hablar. Después de que haya habladao, pueden seguir burlándose de mí.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 ¿Me estoy quejando de la gente? Por supuesto que no. ¿Por qué no debería estar impaciente?
“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 Mírenme. ¿No están horrorizados? Tápense la boca con la mano en señal de asombro.
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 Cada vez que pienso en lo que me ha pasado me horrorizo y tiemblo de miedo.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 “¿Por qué siguen viviendo los malvados, que envejecen y son cada vez más poderosos?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Sus hijos están con ellos; ven crecer a sus nietos.
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 Viven en sus casas con seguridad; no tienen miedo. Dios no usa su vara para golpearlos.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Sus toros siempre crían con éxito; sus vacas paren terneros y no abortan.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Sacan a jugar a sus pequeños como si fueran corderos; sus niños bailan alrededor.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 Cantan acompañados de la pandereta y la lira; celebran con la música de la flauta.
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 Sin embargo, le dicen a Dios: ‘¡Vete lejos! No queremos saber nada de ti.
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 ¿Quién se cree el Todopoderoso para que le sirvamos como esclavos? ¿Qué beneficio hay para nosotros si le oramos?’
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 Esa gente cree que hace su propia fortuna, pero yo no acepto su forma de pensar.
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 “Cuántas veces se apaga la lámpara de los malvados? ¿Cuántas veces les sobreviene el desastre? ¿Cuántas veces castiga Dios a los impíos en su cólera?
(“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 ¿Son arrastrados como paja en el viento? ¿Viene un tornado y se los lleva?
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Algunos dicen: ‘Dios guarda el castigo de la gente para sus hijos’. Pero yo digo: ‘Dios debería castigar a esas personas para que aprendan de ello’.
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 Que ellos mismos vean su destrucción y beban profundamente de la ira de Dios.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Porque no les importará lo que les ocurra a sus familias una vez que hayan muerto.
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 “¿Puede alguien enseñarle a Dios algo que no sepa ya, puesto que él es quien juzga incluso a los seres celestiales?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Una persona muere con buena salud, totalmente cómoda y segura.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 Su cuerpo está gordo por haber comido bien; sus huesos aún son fuertes.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Otro muere después de una vida miserable sin haber experimentado la felicidad.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Sin embargo, ambos son enterrados en el mismo polvo; son tratados de igual manera en la muerte, comidos por los gusanos.
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 “Sé lo que piensan y sus planes para hacerme mal.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Pueden preguntarme: ‘¿Dónde está la casa del gran hombre? ¿Dónde está el lugar donde viven los malvados?’
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 ¿No le han preguntado a los viajeros? ¿No le prestan atención a lo que dicen?
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 La gente malvada se salva en tiempos de desastre; es rescatada del día del juicio.
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 ¿Quién cuestiona sus acciones? ¿Quién les paga por lo que han hecho?
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 Cuando finalmente mueren y son llevados al cementerio, su tumba está custodiada. La tierra de la tumba los cubre suavemente.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Todo el mundo asiste a sus funerales; una enorme procesión de gente viene a presentar sus últimos respetos.
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 ¿Por qué tratan de consolarme con tonterías? Sus respuestas no son más que una sarta de mentiras!”
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
