Job 21
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job Speaks: Comfort Me by Listening to Me
21 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
and let that be the comfort you offer me.
3 Bear with me while I speak.
Then after I’ve spoken, you may go on mocking.
4 Am I complaining about a person?
Why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be shocked,
and put ⌞your⌟ hand over ⌞your⌟ mouth.
6 When I remember it, I’m terrified,
and shuddering seizes my body.
Wicked People Do Not Suffer for Their Sins
7 “Why do the wicked go on living, grow old,
and even become more powerful?
8 They see their children firmly established with them,
and they get to see their descendants.
9 Their homes are free from fear,
and God doesn’t use his rod on them.
10 Their bulls are fertile when they breed.
Their cows give birth to calves and never miscarry.
11 They send their little children out ⌞to play⌟
like a flock of lambs,
and their children dance around.
12 They sing with the tambourine and lyre,
and they are happy with the music of the flute.
13 They spend their days in happiness,
and they go peacefully to the grave.
14 But they say to God,
‘Leave us alone.
We don’t want to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him?
What do we gain if we pray to him?’
16 Anyhow, isn’t their happiness in their own power?
(The plan of the wicked is foreign to my way of thinking.)
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does disaster happen to them?
How often does an angry God give them pain?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind
or like husks that the storm sweeps away?
19 “⌞You say,⌟ ‘God saves a person’s punishment for his children.’
God should pay back that person
so that he would know that it is a punishment.
20 His eyes should see his own ruin.
He should drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
21 How can he be interested in his family after he’s gone,
when the number of his months is cut short?
No One Understands How God Deals with Humans
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge?
Can anyone judge the Most High?
23 One person dies in his prime
and feels altogether happy and contented.
24 His stomach is full of milk,
and his bones are strong and healthy.
25 Another person, never having tasted happiness,
dies with a bitter soul.
26 Together they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover them.
My Friends Have Betrayed Me
27 “You see, I know your thoughts
and the schemes you plot against me
28 because you ask,
‘Where is the house of the influential person?
Where is the tent where wicked people live?’
29 Haven’t you asked travelers?
But you didn’t pay attention to their directions.
30 On the day of disaster the wicked person is spared.
On the day of ⌞God’s⌟ anger he is rescued.
31 Who will tell him to his face how he lived?
Who will pay him back for what he did?
32 He is carried to the cemetery,
and his grave is guarded.
33 The soil in the creekbed is sweet to him.
Everyone follows him.
Countless others went before him.
34 How can you comfort me with this nonsense
when your answers continue to betray me?”
Job 21
New King James Version
Job’s Discourse on the Wicked
21 Then Job answered and said:
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?”
Footnotes
Job 21
English Standard Version
Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper
21 Then Job answered and said:
2 (A)“Keep listening to my words,
and let this be your comfort.
3 Bear with me, and I will speak,
and after I have spoken, (B)mock on.
4 As for me, is my (C)complaint against man?
Why should I not be impatient?
5 Look at me and be appalled,
and (D)lay your hand over your mouth.
6 When I remember, I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7 (E)Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8 Their (F)offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes.
9 Their houses are (G)safe from fear,
and (H)no rod of God is upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and (I)does not miscarry.
11 They send out their (J)little boys like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They sing to (K)the tambourine and (L)the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of (M)the pipe.
13 They (N)spend their days in prosperity,
and in (O)peace they go down to (P)Sheol.
14 They say to God, (Q)‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
15 (R)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what (S)profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
(T)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is it that (U)the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them?
That God[a] distributes pains in his anger?
18 That they are like (V)straw before the wind,
and like (W)chaff that the storm carries away?
19 You say, ‘God (X)stores up their iniquity for their (Y)children.’
Let him pay it out to them, that they may (Z)know it.
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them (AA)drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care for their houses after them,
when (AB)the number of their months is cut off?
22 (AC)Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he (AD)judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full vigor,
being wholly at ease and secure,
24 his pails[b] full of milk
and (AE)the marrow of his bones moist.
25 Another dies in (AF)bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of prosperity.
26 They (AG)lie down alike in the dust,
and (AH)the worms cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts
and your schemes to wrong me.
28 For you say, (AI)‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is (AJ)the tent in which the wicked lived?’
29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony
30 that (AK)the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
31 Who declares his way (AL)to his face,
and who (AM)repays him for what he has done?
32 When he is (AN)carried to the grave,
watch is kept over his tomb.
33 (AO)The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
(AP)all mankind follows after him,
and those who go before him are innumerable.
34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
