Job 21
21
Job’s Dialogue Regarding the Wicked
1Then Job answered and said,
2“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be the consolation.
3“Bear with me, and I also will speak;
And after I have spoken, you may [continue to] mock [me].
4“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?
5“Look at me and be astonished and appalled;
And put your hand over your mouth.
6“Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid;
Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.
7“Why do the wicked still live,
Become old, and become mighty in power?
8“Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
9“Their houses are safe from fear;
And the rod of God is not on them.
10“His bull breeds and does not fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11“They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children skip about.
12“They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
13“They fully enjoy their days in prosperity,
And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment.
14“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15‘Who [and what] is #21:15 Heb Shaddai, also v 20.the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’ [Ex 5:2]
16“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.
17¶“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
And that their disaster falls on them?
Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger? [Luke 12:46]
18“Are they like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away?
19“You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’
Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.
20“Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?
22“Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Seeing that He judges those on high? [Rom 11:34; 1 Cor 2:16]
23“One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and quiet and satisfied;
24His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat],
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
25Whereas another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting pleasure or good fortune.
26“Together they lie down in the dust,
And the worms cover them.
27¶“Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plots by which you would wrong me.
28“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man?
And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’
29“Have you not asked those who travel this way,
And do you not recognize their witness?
30“That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction,
They will be led away on the day of [God’s] wrath?
31“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32“When he is carried to his grave,
A guard will keep watch over his tomb.
33“The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him],
Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave],
While countless ones go before him.
34“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,
Since your answers remain untrue?”
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Job 21: AMP
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Job 21
21
1Then Job answered:
2“Listen carefully to my words,
and let this be your consolation.
3Bear with me, and I will speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4As for me, is my complaint against man?
Why should I not be impatient?
5Look at me, and be appalled,
and lay your hand upon your mouth.
6When I think of it I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh.
7Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
8Their children are established in their presence,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them.
10Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves, and does not cast her calf.
11They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
13They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol.
14They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of thy ways.
15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’
16Behold, is not their prosperity 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 upon them?
That God#21.17 Heb he distributes pains in his anger?
18That they are like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that the storm carries away?
19You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their sons.’
Let him recompense it to themselves, that they may know it.
20Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21For what do they care for their houses after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
22Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those that are on high?
23One dies in full prosperity,
being wholly at ease and secure,
24his body#21.24 The meaning of the Hebrew word in uncertain full of fat
and the marrow of his bones moist.
25Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of good.
26They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.
27“Behold, I know your thoughts,
and your schemes to wrong me.
28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked dwelt?’
29Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony
30that the wicked man is spared in the day of calamity,
that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
31Who declares his way to his face,
and who requites him for what he has done?
32When he is borne to the grave,
watch is kept over his tomb.
33The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
all men follow after him,
and those who go before him are innumerable.
34How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America