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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
Why should I not be impatient?(A)
5 Look at me and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.(B)
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?(C)
8 Their children are established in their presence
and their offspring before their eyes.(D)
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.(E)
10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and never miscarries.(F)
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.(G)
13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.(H)
14 They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We do not desire to know your ways.(I)
15 What is the Almighty,[a] that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’(J)
16 Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement?[b]
The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.(K)
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?(L)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind
and like chaff that the storm carries away?(M)
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