21:1 Then Job replied:
21:2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.
21:3 Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.
21:4 “Is my complaint directed to man? Why should I not be impatient?
21:5 Look at me and be astonished; clap your hand over your mouth.
21:6 When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body.
21:7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
21:8 They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.
21:9 Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not upon them.
21:10 Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry.
21:11 They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about.
21:12 They sing to the music of tambourine and harp; they make merry to the sound of the flute.
21:13 They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.
21:14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways.
21:15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’
21:16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.
21:17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger?
21:18 How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?
21:19 It is said,’God stores up a man’s punishment for his sons.’ Let him repay the man himself, so that he will know it!
21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21:21 For what does he care about the family he leaves behind when his allotted months come to an end?
21:22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?
21:23 One man dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease,
21:24 his body well nourished, his bones rich with marrow.
21:25 Another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good.
21:26 Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both.
21:27 “I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
21:28 You say, ‘Where now is the great man’s house, the tents where wicked men lived?’
21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts–
21:30 that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, that he is delivered from the day of wrath?
21:31 Who denounces his conduct to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
21:32 He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb.
21:33 The soil in the valley is sweet to him; all men follow after him, and a countless throng goes before him.
21:34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”
21:1 Then Job answered and said,
21:2 Listen carefully to my word, / And let this be your consolations.
21:3 Bear with me, and I will speak; / And after I have spoken, mock on.
21:4 As for me, is my complaint to man? / And why should my spirit not be impatient?
21:5 Look at me and be appalled; / And put your hand over your mouth.
21:6 Even when I remember, I am troubled, / And horror takes hold of my flesh.
21:7 Why do the wicked live, / Grow old, even become mighty in riches?
21:8 Their seed is established with them in their sight, / And their offspring, before their eyes.
21:9 Their houses are free from dread, / And the rod of God is not upon them.
21:10 Their bull breeds and does not fail; / Their cow calves and does not miscarry.
21:11 They send forth their little ones like a herd, / And their children dance.
21:12 They lift up their voices to the tambourine and lyre, / And they rejoice at the sound of the flute.
21:13 They spend their days in prosperity, / And in a moment they go down into Sheol.
21:14 And they say unto God, Depart from us, / For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? / And what profit is there, that we should pray to Him?
21:16 Indeed, their prosperity is not in their own hand. / The counsel of the wicked is far from Him.
21:17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, / So that their calamity comes upon them, / So that God distributes sorrows in His anger?
21:18 Do they become like straw before the wind / And like chaff that the storm carries off?
21:19 You say, God stores up the punishment of his iniquity for his children. / I say, Let Him recompense him, so that he knows it.
21:20 Let his eyes see his destruction, / And let him drink the wrath of the Almighty.
21:21 For what is there for him to delight in, in his house after him, / When the number of his months is cut off?
21:22 Will someone teach knowledge to God, / Seeing that He judges those who are on high?
21:23 One dies in his full strength, / Being completely at ease and quiet;
21:24 His pails are full of milk, / And the marrow of his bones is moist.
21:25 But another dies in bitterness of soul / And does not taste of good.
21:26 They lie down alike in the dust, / And the worm covers them.
21:27 Indeed, I know your thoughts, / And the devices by which you would wrong me.
21:28 For you say, Where is the house of the prince? / Where is the tent of the dwellings of the wicked?
21:29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads? / And do you not regard their evidence,
21:30 That the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity, / That they are led forth at the day of overflowing wrath?
21:31 Who will declare his way to his face? / And who will repay him what he has done?
21:32 When he is borne to the grave, / A watch is kept over the tomb.
21:33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him; / And all men go in procession after him, / And those who went before him are without number.
21:34 Why then do you comfort me with vanity? / For your responses leave only falsehood behind.
