Job 21-23

New King James Version

² “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your ^[a]consolation.
³ Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep ^(A)mocking.

⁴ “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be astonished;
^(B)Put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
^7 (C)Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?
⁸ Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
^(D)Neither is ^[b]the rod of God upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves ^(E)without miscarriage.
¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
¹² They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
¹³ They ^(F)spend their days in wealth,
And ^[c]in a moment go down to the ^[d]grave.
^14 (G)Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
^15 (H)Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And ^(I)what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
¹⁶ Indeed ^[e]their prosperity is not in their hand;
^(J)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God ^(K)distributes in His anger?
^18 (L)They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm ^[f]carries away.
¹⁹ They say, ‘God ^[g]lays up ^[h]one’s iniquity ^(M)for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
²⁰ Let his eyes see his destruction,
And ^(N)let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?

²² “Can^(O) anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
²³ One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
²⁴ His ^[i]pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
²⁵ Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
²⁶ They ^(P)lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.

²⁷ “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
²⁸ For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is ^[j]the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
²⁹ Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
^30 (Q)For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
³¹ Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
³² Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
³³ The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
^(R)Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
³⁴ How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since ^[k]falsehood remains in your answers?”

² “Can^(T) a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴ “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?
⁶ For you have ^(U)taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you ^(V)have withheld bread from the hungry.
⁸ But the ^[l]mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
⁹ You have sent widows away empty,
And the ^[m]strength of the fatherless was crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
¹¹ Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of ^(W)water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ And you say, ^(X)‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
^14 (Y)Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
¹⁶ Who ^(Z)were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
^17 (AA)They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to ^[n]them?’
¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹ “The^(AB) righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
²⁰ ‘Surely our ^[o]adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹ “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and ^(AC)be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive, please, ^(AD)instruction from His mouth,
And ^(AE)lay up His words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
²⁴ Then you will ^(AF)lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
²⁵ Yes, the Almighty will be your ^[p]gold
And your precious silver;
²⁶ For then you will have your ^(AG)delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
^27 (AH)You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
²⁸ You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then ^(AI)He will save the humble person.
³⁰ He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

² “Even today my ^(AJ)complaint is bitter;
^[q]My hand is listless because of my groaning.
^3 (AK)Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
⁴ I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
^6 (AL)Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
⁷ There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸ “Look,^(AM) I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
⁹ When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
¹⁰ But ^(AN)He knows the way that I take;
When ^(AO)He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
^11 (AP)My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the ^(AQ)commandment of His lips;
^(AR)I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my ^[r]necessary food.

¹³ “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever ^(AS)His soul desires, that He does.
¹⁴ For He performs what is ^(AT)appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
¹⁶ For God ^(AU)made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
¹⁷ Because I was not ^(AV)cut off ^[s]from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.