Job 21
1 And Job answereth and saith: —
Then Job answered and said,
2 Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.
“Listen carefully to my words, and let this be the comfort you offer to me.
3 Bear with me, and I speak, And after my speaking — ye may deride.
Put up with me, and I also will speak; after I have spoken, mock on.
4 I — to man [is] my complaint? and if [so], wherefore May not my temper become short?
As for me, is my complaint to a person? Why should I not be impatient?
5 Turn unto me, and be astonished, And put hand to mouth.
Look at me and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6 Yea, if I have remembered, then I have been troubled. And my flesh hath taken fright.
When I think about my sufferings, I am terrified, and trembling seizes my body.
7 Wherefore do the wicked live? They have become old, Yea, they have been mighty in wealth.
Why do wicked people continue to live, become old, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their seed is established, Before their face with them, And their offspring before their eyes.
Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring are established before their eyes.
9 Their houses [are] peace without fear, Nor [is] a rod of God upon them.
Their houses are safe from fear; neither is the rod of God on them.
10 His bullock hath eaten corn, and doth not loath. His cow bringeth forth safely, And doth not miscarry.
Their bull breeds; it does not fail to do so; their cow gives birth and does not lose her calf prematurely.
11 They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,
They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
12 They lift [themselves] up at timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of an organ.
They sing to the tambourine and harp and rejoice with the music of the flute.
They spend their days in prosperity, and they go down quietly to Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
14 And they say to God, 'Turn aside from us, And the knowledge of Thy ways We have not desired.
They say to God, 'Depart from us for we do not wish any knowledge of your ways.
15 What [is] the Mighty One that we serve Him? And what do we profit when we meet with Him?'
What is the Almighty, that we should worship him? What advantage would we get if we prayed to him?'
16 Lo, not in their hand [is] their good, (The counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
See, is not their prosperity in their own hands? I have nothing to do with the advice of wicked people.
17 How oft is the lamp of the wicked extinguished, And come on them doth their calamity? Pangs He apportioneth in His anger.
How often is it that the lamp of wicked people is put out, or that their calamity comes upon them? How often does it happen that God distributes sorrows to them in his anger?
18 They are as straw before wind, And as chaff a hurricane hath stolen away,
How often is it that they become like stubble before the wind or like chaff that the storm carries away?
19 God layeth up for his sons his sorrow, He giveth recompense unto him — and he knoweth.
You say, 'God lays up one's guilt for his children to pay.' Let him pay it himself, so that he might know his guilt.
20 His own eyes see his destruction, And of the wrath of the Mighty he drinketh.
Let his eyes see his own destruction, and let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what [is] his delight in his house after him, And the number of his months cut off?
For what does he care about his family after him when the number of his months is cut off?
22 To God doth [one] teach knowledge, And He the high doth judge?
Can anyone teach God knowledge since he judges even those who are high?
23 This [one] dieth in his perfect strength, Wholly at ease and quiet.
One man dies in his full strength, being completely quiet and at ease.
24 His breasts have been full of milk, And marrow his bones doth moisten.
His body is full of milk, and the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 And this [one] dieth with a bitter soul, And have not eaten with gladness.
Another man dies in bitterness of soul, one who has never experienced anything good.
26 Together — on the dust they lie down, And the worm doth cover them over.
They lie down alike in the dust; the worms cover them both.
27 Lo, I have known your thoughts, And the devices against me ye do wrongfully.
See, I know your thoughts, and the ways in which you wish to wrong me.
28 For ye say, 'Where [is] the house of the noble? And where the tent — The tabernacles of the wicked?'
For you say, 'Where now is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked man once lived?'
29 Have ye not asked those passing by the way? And their signs do ye not know?
Have you never asked traveling people? Do you not know the evidence they can tell,
30 That to a day of calamity is the wicked spared. To a day of wrath they are brought.
that the wicked man is kept from the day of calamity, and that he is led away from the day of wrath?
31 Who doth declare to his face his way? And [for] that which he hath done, Who doth give recompence to him?
Who will condemn the wicked man's way to his face? Who will repay him for what he has done?
32 And he — to the graves he is brought. And over the heap a watch is kept.
Yet he will be borne to the grave; men will keep watch over his tomb.
33 Sweet to him have been the clods of the valley, And after him every man he draweth, And before him there is no numbering.
The clods of the valley will be sweet to him; all people will follow after him, as there were innumerable people before him.
34 And how do ye comfort me [with] vanity, And in your answers hath been left trespass?
How then do you comfort me with nonsense, since in your answers there is nothing but falsehood?”
