Job 21:4-18
New American Standard Bible
4 As for me, is (A)my complaint [a]to a mortal?
Or (B)why should [b]I not be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be astonished,
And (C)put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And (D)horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 Why (E)do the wicked still live,
Grow old, and also become very [c](F)powerful?
8 Their [d](G)descendants endure with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
9 Their houses (H)are safe from fear,
And the [e]rod of God is not on them.
10 His ox mates [f]without fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11 They send out their boys like the flock,
And their children dance.
12 They [g]sing with the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They (I)spend their days in prosperity,
And [h]suddenly they go down to [i]Sheol.
14 Yet they say to God, ‘(J)Go away from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 [j]Who is [k]the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And (K)what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The (L)advice of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is (M)the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their (N)disaster fall on them?
Does [l]God apportion destruction in His anger?
18 Are they as (O)straw before the wind,
And like (P)chaff which the storm carries away?
Footnotes
Job 21:4-18
International Standard Version
4 After all, isn’t my complaint against a human being?
If so, why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me, be appalled,
and then shut up!
6 When I think about this,[a] I’m petrified with terror
and my body shudders uncontrollably.”
The Wicked Prospers
7 “Why do the wicked live to reach old age
and increase in power and wealth, too?
8 Their children grow up while they’re alive,
and they live to see their grandchildren.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and God’s chastisement[b] never visits them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail,
and their cows calve without miscarriages.
11 They release their children to play like sheep;
their young ones[c] dance about,
12 singing[d] with tambourines and lyres
as they rejoice to the sound of flutes.
13 They grow old[e] in prosperity,
as they descend peacefully into the afterlife.[f]
14 “They say to God, ‘Turn away from us!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
Where’s the profit in talking to him?’
16 Behold! Their prosperity isn’t in their control!
The counsel of the wicked will remain far from me.”
God will Punish the Wicked
17 “How often do the wicked have their lights put out?
Does calamity ever fall on them?
Will God[g] in his anger ever apportion their destruction?
18 May they become like a straw,
blown away before the wind;
like a chaff that’s swept off by a storm.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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