Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked
21 Then Job [a]answered,
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
3 “Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may (A)mock.
4 “As for me, is (B)my complaint [b]to man?
And (C)why should [c]I not be impatient?
5 “Look at me, and be astonished,
And (D)put your hand over your mouth.
6 “Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And (E)horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 “Why (F)do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very (G)powerful?
8 “Their [d](H)descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
9 Their houses (I)are safe from fear,
And the rod of God is not on them.
10 “His ox mates [e]without fail;
His cow calves and does not abort.
11 “They send forth their little ones like the flock,
And their children skip about.
12 “They [f]sing to the timbrel and harp
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 “They (J)spend their days in prosperity,
And [g]suddenly they go down to [h]Sheol.
14 “They say to God, ‘(K)Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 ‘[i]Who is [j]the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And (L)what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The (M)counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is (N)the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their (O)calamity fall on them?
Does [k]God apportion destruction in His anger?
18 “Are they as (P)straw before the wind,
And like (Q)chaff which the storm carries away?
19 “You say, ‘(R)God stores away [l]a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let [m]God repay him so that he may know it.
20 “Let his (S)own eyes see his decay,
And let him (T)drink of the wrath of [n]the Almighty.
21 “For what does he care for his household [o]after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
22 “Can anyone (U)teach God knowledge,
In that He (V)judges those on high?
23 “One (W)dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and [p]satisfied;
24 His [q]sides are filled out with fat,
And the (X)marrow of his bones is moist,
25 While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even [r]tasting anything good.
26 “Together they (Y)lie down in the dust,
And (Z)worms cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you would wrong me.
28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of (AA)the nobleman,
And where is the (AB)tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29 “Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their [s]witness?
30 “For the (AC)wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at (AD)the day of fury.
31 “Who will [t]confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32 “While he is carried to the grave,
Men will keep watch over his tomb.
33 “The (AE)clods of the valley will [u]gently cover him;
Moreover, (AF)all men will [v]follow after him,
While countless ones go before him.
34 “How then will you vainly (AG)comfort me,
For your answers remain full of [w]falsehood?”
Footnotes
- Job 21:1 Lit answered and said
- Job 21:4 Or against
- Job 21:4 Lit my spirit
- Job 21:8 Lit seed
- Job 21:10 Lit and does not fail
- Job 21:12 Lit lifted up the voice
- Job 21:13 So with most versions; M.T. are shattered by Sheol
- Job 21:13 I.e. the nether world
- Job 21:15 Lit What
- Job 21:15 Heb Shaddai
- Job 21:17 Lit He
- Job 21:19 Lit his
- Job 21:19 Lit Him
- Job 21:20 Heb Shaddai
- Job 21:21 I.e. after he dies
- Job 21:23 Or quiet
- Job 21:24 So with Syr; Heb uncertain. Some render as, his pails are full of milk
- Job 21:25 Lit eating
- Job 21:29 Lit signs
- Job 21:31 Lit declare his way to his face
- Job 21:33 Lit be sweet to him
- Job 21:33 Lit draw
- Job 21:34 Or faithlessness
Cross references
- Job 21:3 : Job 11:3; 17:2
- Job 21:4 : Job 7:11
- Job 21:4 : Job 6:11
- Job 21:5 : Judg 18:19; Job 13:5; 29:9; 40:4
- Job 21:6 : Ps 55:5
- Job 21:7 : Job 9:24; Ps 73:3; Jer 12:1; Hab 1:13
- Job 21:7 : Job 12:19
- Job 21:8 : Ps 17:14
- Job 21:9 : Job 12:6
- Job 21:13 : Job 21:23; 36:11
- Job 21:14 : Job 22:17
- Job 21:15 : Job 22:17; 34:9
- Job 21:16 : Job 22:18
- Job 21:17 : Job 18:5, 6
- Job 21:17 : Job 31:2, 3
- Job 21:18 : Job 13:25; Ps 83:13
- Job 21:18 : Ps 1:4; 35:5; Is 17:13; Hos 13:3
- Job 21:19 : Ex 20:5; Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:2
- Job 21:20 : Num 14:28-32; Jer 31:30; Ezek 18:4
- Job 21:20 : Ps 60:3; Is 51:17; Jer 25:15; Rev 14:10
- Job 21:22 : Job 35:11; 36:22; Is 40:14; Rom 11:34
- Job 21:22 : Job 4:18; 15:15; Ps 82:1
- Job 21:23 : Job 20:11; 21:13
- Job 21:24 : Prov 3:8
- Job 21:26 : Job 3:13; 20:11; Eccl 9:2
- Job 21:26 : Job 24:20; Is 14:11
- Job 21:28 : Job 1:3; 31:37
- Job 21:28 : Job 8:22; 18:21
- Job 21:30 : Job 20:29; Prov 16:4; 2 Pet 2:9
- Job 21:30 : Job 21:17, 20; 40:11
- Job 21:33 : Job 3:22; 17:16
- Job 21:33 : Job 3:19; 24:24
- Job 21:34 : Job 16:2