Job 21
21
Job’s Reply to Zophar
1Then Job answered:
2Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.
3Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4As for me, is my complaint # Jb 7:11; 10:1; 27:13 against a man?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5Look at me and shudder; # Jb 17:8; 18:20; Dn 4:19
put your hand over your mouth. # Jdg 18:19; Jb 29:9; 40:4
6When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles # Jb 4:14; Ps 55:5; 119:120 in horror.
7Why do the wicked continue to live,
growing old and becoming powerful?
8Their children are established while they are still alive, # Lit established before them with them
and their descendants, before their eyes.
9Their homes are secure and free of fear; # Jb 5:24; 8:6; 12:6
no rod from God strikes them. # Jb 9:34; Ps 73:5
10Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,
12singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. # Jb 30:31; Ps 81:2; 150:4
13They spend # Alt Hb tradition reads fully enjoy their days in prosperity # Jb 36:11; Ps 37:7; 73:12
and go down to Sheol in peace.
14Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know Your ways. # Jb 22:17; Ps 95:10; Pr 1:29
15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
and what will we gain by pleading with Him? ” # Ex 5:2; Jb 34:9; Mal 3:14
16But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me! # Jb 22:18; Ps 1:1; Pr 1:10
17How often is the lamp # Jb 18:5; Pr 13:9; 24:20 of the wicked put out?
Does disaster # Lit their disaster come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?
18Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff # Ps 1:4; 35:5; Is 17:13 a storm sweeps away?
19God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. # Ex 20:5; Jr 31:29; Lm 5:7
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.
20Let his own eyes see his demise;
let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath! # Ps 75:8; Is 51:17; Jr 25:15
21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, # Jb 14:21; Ec 9:5; Is 63:16
when the number of his months has run out? # Jb 14:5; Ps 39:4; 90:12
22Can anyone teach God knowledge, # Is 40:13-14; Rm 11:34; 1Co 2:16
since He judges the exalted ones? # Probably angels
23One person dies in excellent health, # Lit in bone of his perfection
completely secure # Text emended; MT reads health, all at ease and at ease.
24His body is # Or His sides are ; Hb obscure well fed, # Lit is full of milk
and his bones are full of marrow. # Lit and the marrow of his bones is watered
25Yet another person dies with a bitter # 1Sm 1:10; Jb 7:11; 10:1 soul,
having never tasted prosperity.
26But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them. # Jb 20:11; Ec 9:2-3; Is 14:11
27I know your thoughts very well,
the schemes you would wrong me with.
28For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house? ”
and “Where are the tents # Jb 8:22,18:21; Ps 55:15 the wicked lived in? ”
29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don’t you accept their reports? # Lit signs
30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,
rescued from the day of wrath.
31Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay # Dt 7:10; Jb 34:11; Ps 62:12 him for what he has done?
32He is carried to the grave,
and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33The dirt on his grave is # Lit The clods of the wadi are sweet to him.
Everyone follows behind him,
and those who go before him are without number.
34So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.
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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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