Job 21-23

Easy-to-Read Version

² “Listen to what I say.
    Let this be your way of comforting me.
³ Be patient while I speak.
    Then after I have finished speaking, you may make fun of me.

⁴ “My complaint is not against people.
    There is a good reason why I am not patient.
⁵ Look at me and be shocked.
    Put your hand over your mouth, and stare at me in shock!
⁶ When I think about what happened to me,
    I feel afraid and my body shakes!
⁷ Why do evil people live long lives?
    Why do they grow old and successful?
⁸ They watch their children grow up
    and live to see their grandchildren.
⁹ Their homes are safe and free from fear.
    God does not punish them.
¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to mate.
    Their cows have healthy calves.
¹¹ They send their children out to play like lambs.
    Their children dance around.
¹² They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes.
¹³ Evil people enjoy success during their lives
    and then go to the grave without suffering.
¹⁴ They say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We don’t care what you want us to do!’
¹⁵ And they say, ‘Who is God All-Powerful?
    We don’t need to serve him!
    It will not help to pray to him!’

¹⁶ “Of course, evil people don’t make their own success.
    I would never follow their advice.
¹⁷ But how often does God blow out their light?
    How often does trouble come to them?
    How often does God get angry with them and punish them?
¹⁸ Does God blow them away, as the wind blows straw
    or as strong winds blow the grain husks?
¹⁹ But you say, ‘God is saving their punishment for their children.’
    No! Let God punish the evil people themselves so that they will know what they have done!
²⁰ Let them see their own punishment.
    Let them feel the anger of God All-Powerful.
²¹ When their life is finished and they are dead,
    they will not care about the family they leave behind.

²² “No one can teach God anything he doesn’t already know.
    God judges even those in high places.
²³ One person dies after living a full and successful life,
    a life completely safe and comfortable,
²⁴ with a body that was well fed
    and bones that were still strong.
²⁵ But another person dies after a hard life that has made them bitter,
    never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶ In the end, both of these people will lie together in the dirt.
    The worms will cover them both.

²⁷ “But I know what you are thinking,
    and I know you want to hurt me.
²⁸ You might say, ‘Show me a good man’s house.
    Now, show me where evil people live.’^[a]

²⁹ “Surely you have talked with travelers.
    Surely you will accept their stories.
³⁰ Evil people are spared when disaster comes.
    They survive when God shows his anger.
³¹ No one criticizes them to their faces for how they lived.
    No one punishes them for the evil they have done.
³² When they are carried to the grave,
    they will have someone to watch over the place they are buried.
³³ So even the soil in the valley will be pleasant for them,
    and thousands of people will join their funeral procession.

³⁴ “So your empty words are no comfort to me.
    There is no truth at all in your answers!”

² “Does God need our help?
    Even the wisest of us is not really useful to him.
³ Does your living right benefit him?
    Does God All-Powerful gain anything if you follow him?
⁴ Why does God blame and punish you?
    Is it because you worship him?
⁵ No, it is because you sin so much.
    You never stop sinning.
⁶ Maybe to guarantee loans you took things from people for no reason.
    Maybe you took a poor man’s clothes to make sure he paid you back.^[b]
7 Maybe you failed to give water or food
    to people who were tired or hungry.
⁸ You have a lot of farmland,
    and people respect you.
⁹ But maybe you sent widows away without giving them anything.
    And maybe you took advantage of orphans.
¹⁰ That is why traps are all around you,
    and sudden trouble makes you afraid.
¹¹ That is why it is so dark you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.

¹² “God lives in the highest part of heaven
    and looks down on the highest stars.
¹³ But you might say, ‘What does God know?
    Can he see through the dark clouds to judge us?
¹⁴ Thick clouds hide us from his eyes,
    so he cannot see us as he walks around the edge of the sky.’

¹⁵ “Job, you are walking on the old path
    that evil people walked on long ago.
¹⁶ They were destroyed before it was their time to die.
    They were washed away by the flood.
¹⁷ They told God, ‘Leave us alone!’
    and said, ‘God All-Powerful cannot do anything to us!’
¹⁸ And it was God who filled their houses with good things.
    No, I would never follow the advice of evil people.
¹⁹ Those who do what is right are happy to see them destroyed.
    The innocent laugh at them and say,
²⁰ ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed!
    Their wealth burned up in the fire!’

²¹ “Now, Job, give yourself to God and make peace with him.
    Do this, and you will get many good things.
²² Accept his teaching.
    Pay attention to what he says.
²³ If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be restored.
    But remove the evil from your house.
²⁴ Think of your gold as nothing but dirt.
    Think of your finest gold as rocks from a stream.
²⁵ And let God All-Powerful be your gold.
    Let him be your pile of silver.
²⁶ Then you will enjoy God All-Powerful,
    and you will look up to him.
²⁷ When you pray, he will hear you.
    And you will be able to do all that you promised him.
²⁸ If you decide to do something, it will be successful.
    And your future will be very bright!
²⁹ When people are brought down and you ask God to help them,
    he will rescue those who have been humbled.
³⁰ Even those who are guilty will be forgiven.
    They will be saved because you did what was right.”

² “I am still complaining today.
    I groan because God is still making me suffer.
³ I wish I knew where to find him.
    I wish I knew how to go to where he lives.
⁴ I would present my case to him.
    I would make my arguments to show that I am innocent.
⁵ He could give his response, and I would understand.
    I would listen closely to what he says.
⁶ Would God use his power against me?
    No, he would listen to me!
⁷ Since I am an honest man, he would let me tell my story.
    Then my Judge would set me free!

⁸ “If I go to the east, God is not there.
    If I go to the west, I still don’t see him.
⁹ When he is working in the north, I don’t see him.
    When he turns to the south, I still don’t see him.
¹⁰ But God knows me.
    He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold.
¹¹ I have always lived the way God wants.
    I have never stopped following him.
¹² I always obey his commands.
    I love the words from his mouth more than I love my food.

¹³ “But God never changes,
    and who can stand against him?
    He does anything he wants.
¹⁴ He will do to me what he planned,
    and he has many other plans for me.
¹⁵ That is why I am terrified to stand before him.
    Just thinking about it makes me afraid.
¹⁶ The fear of God has made me lose my courage.
    God All-Powerful makes me afraid.
¹⁷ What has happened to me is like a dark cloud over my face.
    But the darkness will not keep me quiet.