Job 21:4-18
World English Bible
4 As for me, is my complaint to man?
Why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be astonished.
Lay your hand on your mouth.
6 When I remember, I am troubled.
Horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 “Why do the wicked live,
become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their child is established with them in their sight,
their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
neither is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bulls breed without fail.
Their cows calve, and don’t miscarry.
11 They send out their little ones like a flock.
Their children dance.
12 They sing to the tambourine and harp,
and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
13 They spend their days in prosperity.
In an instant they go down to Sheol.[a]
14 They tell God, ‘Depart from us,
for we don’t want to know about your ways.
15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
that their calamity comes on them,
that God distributes sorrows in his anger?
18 How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind,
as chaff that the storm carries away?
Footnotes
- 21:13 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Job 21:4-18
New Living Translation
4 “My complaint is with God, not with people.
I have good reason to be so impatient.
5 Look at me and be stunned.
Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder.
My body trembles.
7 “Why do the wicked prosper,
growing old and powerful?
8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down,
and they enjoy their grandchildren.
9 Their homes are safe from every fear,
and God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to breed.
Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.
11 They let their children frisk about like lambs.
Their little ones skip and dance.
12 They sing with tambourine and harp.
They celebrate to the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
then go down to the grave[a] in peace.
14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.
We want no part of you and your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?
What good will it do us to pray?’
16 (They think their prosperity is of their own doing,
but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)
17 “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.
Do they ever have trouble?
Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?
18 Are they driven before the wind like straw?
Are they carried away by the storm like chaff?
Not at all!
Footnotes
- 21:13 Hebrew to Sheol.
Job 21:4-18
New International Version
4 “Is my complaint(A) directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?(B)
5 Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.(C)
6 When I think about this, I am terrified;(D)
trembling seizes my body.(E)
7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?(F)
8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.(G)
9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;(H)
the rod of God is not on them.(I)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.(J)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(K)
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(L)
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(M)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(N)
and go down to the grave(O) in peace.[a](P)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(Q)
We have no desire to know your ways.(R)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’(S)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(T)
Footnotes
- Job 21:13 Or in an instant
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