Job 21
World English Bible
21 Then Job answered,
2 “Listen diligently to my speech.
Let this be your consolation.
3 Allow me, and I also will speak;
After I have spoken, mock on.
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?
19 You say, ‘God lays up his iniquity for his children.’
Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
20 Let his own eyes see his destruction.
Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what does he care for his house after him,
when the number of his months is cut off?
22 “Shall any teach God knowledge,
since he judges those who are high?
23 One dies in his full strength,
being wholly at ease and quiet.
24 His pails are full of milk.
The marrow of his bones is moistened.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
and never tastes of good.
26 They lie down alike in the dust.
The worm covers them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
the plans with which you would wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29 Haven’t you asked wayfaring men?
Don’t you know their evidences,
30 that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity,
That they are led out to the day of wrath?
31 Who will declare his way to his face?
Who will repay him what he has done?
32 Yet he will be borne to the grave.
Men will keep watch over the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley will be sweet to him.
All men will draw after him,
as there were innumerable before him.
34 So how can you comfort me with nonsense,
because in your answers there remains only falsehood?”
Footnotes
- 21:13 Sheol is the place of the dead.
Job 21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Replies: The Wicked Often Go Unpunished
21 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak;
then after I have spoken, mock on.(A)
4 As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
Why should I not be impatient?(B)
5 Look at me and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.(C)
6 When I think of it I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 Why do the wicked live on,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?(D)
8 Their children are established in their presence
and their offspring before their eyes.(E)
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.(F)
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and never miscarries.(G)
11 They send out their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance around.
12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.(H)
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.(I)
14 They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We do not desire to know your ways.(J)
15 What is the Almighty,[a] that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’(K)
16 Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement?[b]
The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.(L)
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does calamity come upon them?
How often does God[c] distribute pains in his anger?(M)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind
and like chaff that the storm carries away?(N)
19 You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’
Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it.(O)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.[d](P)
21 For what do they care for their household after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
22 Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those who are on high?(Q)
23 One dies in full prosperity,
being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his loins full of milk
and the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of good.
26 They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.(R)
27 “Oh, I know your thoughts
and your schemes to wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’(S)
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony,
30 that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity
and are rescued in the day of wrath?(T)
31 Who declares their way to their face,
and who repays them for what they have done?
32 When they are carried to the grave,
a watch is kept over their tomb.
33 The clods of the valley are sweet to them;
everyone will follow after,
and those who went before are innumerable.(U)
34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.