Job 21
1 Y respondió Job, y dijo:
Then Job replied,
2 Oíd atentamente mi palabra, y sea esto por vuestros consuelos.
“Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
3 Soportádme, y yo hablaré; y después que hubiere hablado, escarnecéd.
Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
4 ¿Hablo yo a algún hombre? y si es así, ¿por qué no se angustiará mi espíritu?
“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 Mirádme, y espantáos, y ponéd la mano sobre la boca.
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 Que cuando yo me acuerdo, me asombro; y toma temblor mi carne.
When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
7 ¿Por qué viven los impíos, y se envejecen, y aun crecen en riquezas?
“[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
8 Su simiente con ellos, compuesta delante de ellos; y sus renuevos delante de sus ojos.
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 Sus casas seguras de temor, ni hay sobre ellos azote de Dios.
Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
10 Sus toros engendran y no yerran: paren sus vacas y no amueven.
Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 Echan sus chiquitos como manada de ovejas, y sus hijos andan saltando.
Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
12 A son de tamboril y de vihuela saltan; y se huelgan al son del órgano.
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 Y dicen a Dios: Apártate de nosotros, que no queremos el conocimiento de tus caminos.
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 es el Todopoderoso para que le sirvamos? ¿y de qué nos aprovechará que oremos a él?
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 He aquí, que su bien no está en su mano: el consejo de los impíos lejos esté de mí.
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 ¡Oh cuántas veces la antorcha de los impíos es apagada; y viene sobre ellos su contrición; y con su ira Dios les reparte dolores!
(“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 Serán como la paja delante del viento, y como el tamo que arrebata el torbellino.
[He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
19 Dios guardará para sus hijos su violencia; y le dará su pago, para que conozca.
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 Verán sus ojos su quebranto; y beberá de la ira del Todopoderoso.
I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
21 Porque ¿qué deleite tendrá él de su casa después de sí, siendo cortado el número de sus meses?
After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
22 ¿Enseñará él a Dios sabiduría, juzgando él las alturas?
“Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
23 Este morirá en la fortaleza de su hermosura todo quieto y pacífico.
Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
24 Sus pechos están llenos de leche, y sus huesos serán regados de tuétano.
Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
25 Y estotro morirá con amargo ánimo, y no comerá con bien.
Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
26 Juntamente yacerán sobre la tierra, y gusanos los cubrirán.
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 He aquí, que yo conozco vuestros pensamientos, y las imaginaciones que contra mí forjáis.
“Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
28 Porque decís: ¿Qué es de la casa del príncipe? ¿y qué es de la tienda de las moradas de los impíos?
You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
29 ¿No habéis preguntado a los que pasan por los caminos, cuyas señas no negaréis?
But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
30 Que el malo es guardado del día de la contrición, del día de las iras son llevados.
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 le denunciará en su cara su camino? ¿y de lo que él hizo, quién le dará el pago?
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 Porque él ya será llevado a los sepulcros, y en el montón permanecerá.
The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
33 Los terrones del arroyo le serán ya dulces; y tras de él será llevado todo hombre, y antes de él no hay número.
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 ¿Cómo pues me consoláis en vano, pues vuestras respuestas quedan por mentira?
“So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
