Job 21

Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

1 Then Job responded,

2 "Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

3 "Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

4 "As for me, is my complaint *21:4 Or againstto a mortal?

Or why should *21:4 Lit my spiritI not be impatient?

5 "Look at me, and be astonished,

And put your hand over your mouth.

6 "Even when I remember, I am disturbed,

And horror takes hold of my flesh.

7 "Why do the wicked still live,

Grow old, and also become very *21:7 Or superiorpowerful?

8 "Their *21:8 Lit seeddescendants endure with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes,

9 Their houses are safe from fear,

And the *21:9 I.e., punishmentrod of God is not on them.

10 "His ox mates *21:10 Lit and does not failwithout fail;

His cow calves and does not miscarry.

11 "They send out their boys like the flock,

And their children dance.

12 "They *21:12 Lit lifted up the voicesing with the tambourine and harp,

And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

13 "They spend their days in prosperity,

And *21:13 Or in peacefulnesssuddenly they go down to *21:13 I.e., the netherworldSheol.

14 "Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 ‘*21:15 Lit WhatWho is *21:15 Heb Shaddaithe Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

16 "Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The advice of the wicked is far from me.

17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their disaster fall on them?

Does *21:17 Lit HeGod apportion destruction in His anger?

18 "Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm carries away?

19 "You say, ‘God saves up *21:19 Lit hisa person’s *21:19 Or disasterwrongdoing for his sons.’

Let *21:19 Lit HimGod repay him so that he may know it.

20 "Let his own eyes see his destruction,

And let him drink of the wrath of *21:20 Heb Shaddaithe Almighty.

21 "For what does he care about his household *21:21 I.e., after he diesafter him,

When the number of his months is at an end?

22 "Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

23 "One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

24 His *21:24 As in Syriac; Heb uncertain. Some render as his pails are full of milksides are filled with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is wet,

25 While another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even *21:25 Lit eatingtasting anything good.

26 "Together they lie down in the dust,

And maggots cover them.

27 "Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plots you devise against me.

28 "For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

29 "Have you not asked travelers,

And do you not examine their *21:29 Lit signsevidence?

30 "For the wicked person is spared *21:30 Or for the daya day of disaster;

They *21:30 Or will be led to the dayare led away from a day of fury.

31 "Who *21:31 Lit declares his way to his faceconfronts him with his actions,

And who repays him for what he has done?

32 "When he is carried to the grave,

People will keep watch over his tomb.

33 "The clods of the valley will *21:33 Lit be sweet to himgently cover him;

Moreover, all mankind will *21:33 Lit drawfollow after him,

While countless others go before him.

34 "So how dare you give me empty comfort?

For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!"