Job 21
21
Chapter 21
Job replies to Zophar
1Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2‘Listen carefully to the things that I am saying.
You can only help me if you do that.
3Be patient with me so that I can speak.
After you have heard what I say,
you may choose to laugh at me.
4It is not people that I want to argue with. #21:4 Job is saying that he wants to argue with God, not with people. His friends have told him that God only punishes wicked people. But Job knows that God decides what happens to all people, good people and bad people. Nobody can tell God what he should do.
So I have good reason to be upset.
5When you look at me, you should be upset.
You should cover your mouth with your hand.
6I think about what has happened to me.
It makes me very afraid.
My body shakes with fear.
7Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time?
The older they become, the more power they have.
8They see their own children grow and become strong.
Their children also have strong families.
9They are safe in their homes
and they are not afraid.
God does not punish them.
10Their cows give birth safely to many calves.
11Their children run and play.
They jump like young lambs.
12They enjoy the music of tambourines and harps.
They sing with joy to the sound of flutes.
13Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives.
Even when they die, they do not suffer.
14They say to God, “Leave us alone!
We do not want to know about your ways.
15We do not need to serve the Almighty God.
If we pray to him,
there is nothing he can do to help us.”
16They think that they have made themselves rich.
But it is not true.
So I do not listen to the things that wicked people say.
17It seems that wicked people enjoy a long life.
They do not often have many troubles.
When God is angry with them,
he does not cause them to suffer.
18He does not blow them away,
like the wind blows dry grass.
They do not disappear like chaff that a storm blows away.
19You may say, “God will punish a wicked person's children
with the punishment that he deserves.”
But I say that God should punish the wicked person himself.
Then he will realize that he is wicked.
20Wicked people should receive their own punishment.
They should see that Almighty God is angry with them.
21After wicked people have died,
it does not matter to them if their family suffers.
22No one can teach God what he should do.
He himself judges the most powerful rulers. #21:22 ‘The most powerful rulers’ or ‘angels’.
23One person has good health all his life.
Even when he is ready to die,
he still lives a safe and happy life.
24He eats good food and his body is strong.
25But another person is sad all his life, until he dies.
No good things ever happen to him.
26But they all die one day
and their bodies lie under the ground.
Worms cover their bodies, whoever they are.
27I know what you are thinking.
You want to show that I am guilty.
28You say, “You see that the rich person no longer has a house.
Wicked people no longer have homes to live in.”
29But you should ask people who travel to different places.
You should listen to the things that they say.
30They would tell you that wicked people do not always suffer.
When trouble comes,
they continue to be safe.
When God is angry with people,
wicked people escape punishment.
31No one speaks against them
to say that they are guilty.
No one punishes them
for the bad things that they have done.
32When a wicked person dies,
people bury him with honour.
Guards watch over his grave.
33A big crowd of people come to his funeral.
They make a heap of earth over his body,
in the valley where he rests happily.
34So your useless words do not comfort me.
Your answers are all lies!’
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Job 21: EASY
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