Job 21

¹Then Job responded,

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

⁴As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?

⁸Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

¹⁶Behold, 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 God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.

²⁶Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?

³⁰For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.

³¹Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.

³⁴So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”