Job 21
1 Then Job replied,
Forsothe Joob answeride, and seide,
2 “Listen to what I say, all [three] of you; that is the only thing that you can do that will comfort me.
Y preye, here ye my wordis, and do ye penaunce.
3 Be patient with me, and allow me to speak. Then, after I am finished speaking, you can continue to make fun of me.
Suffre ye me, that Y speke; and leiye ye aftir my wordis, if it schal seme worthi.
4 “It is certainly not [RHQ] people against whom I am complaining, [but God] And it is certainly [RHQ] right for me to be impatient!
Whether my disputyng is ayens man, that skilfuli Y owe not to be sori?
5 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]?
Perseyue ye me, and be ye astonyed; and sette ye fyngur on youre mouth.
6 When I think about [what has happened to me], I am frightened and my entire body shakes.
And whanne Y bithenke, Y drede, and tremblyng schakith my fleisch.
7 “[But let me ask this: ] ‘Why do wicked people continue to live, and become prosperous, and not die until they are very old?’
Whi therfor lyuen wickid men? Thei ben enhaunsid, and coumfortid with richessis.
8 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.
Her seed dwellith bifor hem; the cumpeny of kynesmen, and of sones of sones dwellith in her siyt.
9 Wicked people live in their own houses without being afraid, and God does not punish [MTY] them.
Her housis ben sikur, and pesible; and the yerde of God is not on hem.
10 Their bulls always mate with the cows successfully, and the cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
The cow of hem conseyuede, and caluede not a deed calf; the cow caluyde, and is not priued of hir calf.
11 Wicked people send their young children outside [to play], and the children play [happily] like [SIM] lambs [in a pasture].
Her litle children goen out as flockis; and her yonge children `maken fulli ioye with pleies.
12 Some children dance and sing, while others shake tambourines and play lyres, and they are happy when they hear people playing flutes.
Thei holden tympan, and harpe; and ioien at the soun of orgun.
13 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)
Thei leden in goodis her daies; and in a point thei goen doun to hellis. (Sheol h7585)
14 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!
Whiche men seiden to God, Go thou awei fro us; we nylen the kunnyng of thi weies.
15 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]’
Who is Almiyti God, that we serue him? and what profitith it to vs, if we preien him?
16 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.
Netheles for her goodis ben not in her hond, `that is, power, the counsel of wickid men be fer fro me.
17 (“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]
Hou ofte schal the lanterne of wickid men be quenchid, and flowing schal come on hem, and God schal departe the sorewis of his stronge veniaunce?
18 [He does not blow] them away like wind blows away straw; they are never carried off by a whirlwind.
Thei schulen be as chaffis bifor the face of the wynd; and as a deed sparcle, whiche the whirlewynd scaterith abrood.
19 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].
God schal kepe the sorewe of the fadir to hise sones; and whanne he hath yoldun, thanne he schal wite.
20 I hope/wish that wicked people will experience themselves being destroyed, that they will experience being punished by an angry Almighty God.
Hise iyen schulen se her sleyng; and he schal drynke of the stronge veniaunce of Almyyti God.
21 After wicked people are dead, they are not at all concerned [RHQ] about what happens to their families [MTY].
For whi what perteyneth it to hym of his hows aftir hym, thouy the noumbre of his monethis be half takun awey?
22 “Since God judges [everyone, ] even those that are in heaven, (who can teach God anything?/certainly no one can teach God anything.) [RHQ]
Whether ony man schal teche God kunnyng, which demeth hem that ben hiye?
23 Some people die while they are very healthy, while they are peaceful, when they are not afraid of anything.
This yuel man dieth strong and hool, riche and blesful, `that is, myrie.
24 Their bodies are fat; their bones are strong.
Hise entrails ben ful of fatnesse; and hise boonys ben moistid with merowis.
25 Other people die being very miserable; they have never experienced good things happening to them.
Sotheli anothir wickid man dieth in the bittirnesse of his soule, and with outen ony richessis.
26 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].
And netheles thei schulen slepe togidere in dust, and wormes schulen hile hem.
27 “Listen, I know what you [three] are thinking. I know the evil things that you plan to do to me.
Certis Y knowe youre wickid thouytis, and sentensis ayens me.
28 You say, ‘What happened to the tents in which wicked people were living? The houses of evil rulers have been destroyed!’
For ye seien, Where is the hows of the prince? and where ben the tabernaclis of wickid men?
29 But have you never inquired of people who travel much? Do you not believe their reports about what they have seen,
Axe ye ech of `the weie goeris; and ye schulen knowe, that he vndurstondith these same thingis,
30 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]?
that an yuel man schal be kept in to the dai of perdicioun, and schal be led to the dai of woodnesse.
31 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.
Who schal repreue hise weies bifor hym? and who schal yelde to hym tho thingis, whiche he hath doon?
32 The corpses of wicked people are carried to their graves, and people are put there to guard those graves.
He schal be led to the sepulcris; and he schal wake in the heep of deed men.
33 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.
He was swete to the `stoonys, ether filthis, of helle; and drawith ech man aftir hym, and vnnoumbrable men bifor him.
34 “So how can you console me by talking nonsense? Every reply that you make is full of lies!”
Hou therfor coumforten ye me in veyn, sithen youre answeris ben schewid to `repugne to treuthe?
