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Job Answers Zophar

21 Then Job answered:

“Listen carefully to my words.
    Let this be the way you comfort me.
Be patient while I speak.
    After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me if you wish.

“My complaint is not just against people.
    I have reason to be impatient.
Look at me then and be shocked.
    Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
When I think about this, I am terribly afraid.
    My body shakes!
Why do evil people live a long time?
    They grow old and become more powerful.
They see their children become strong around them.
    They watch their children grow up.
Their homes are safe and without fear.
    God does not punish them.
10 Their bulls never fail to mate.
    Their cows have healthy calves.
11 Their children run and play like flocks of lambs.
    Their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps.
    The sound of the flute makes them happy.
13 Evil people enjoy success during their lives.
    Then they go down in peace to where the dead are.
14 But they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We don’t want to know your ways.
15 Who is God All-Powerful that we should serve him?
    We would gain nothing by praying to him.’
16 But the wicked think they succeed by their own strength.
    Their way of thinking is not godly.
17 Yet how often is the lamp of evil people turned off?
    How often does trouble come to them?
    How often do they suffer the punishment God plans in his anger?
18 How often are they like straw in the wind
    or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?
19 It is said, ‘God saves up a man’s punishment for the man’s children.’
    God should punish the evil person himself so he will know it.
20 His eyes should see his own destruction.
    He should suffer the anger of God All-Powerful.
21 He does not care about the family he leaves behind
    when his life has come to an end.

22 “No one can teach knowledge to God.
    He is the one who judges even the most important people.
23 One man dies while he still has all his strength.
    He feels completely safe and comfortable.
24 His body was well fed.
    And his bones were strong and healthy.
25 But another man dies with an unhappy heart.
    He never had any happiness.
26 These two men are buried next to each other.
    And worms cover both of them.

27 “I know very well what you are thinking.
    I know your plans to do wrong to me.
28 You say about me, ‘Now where is this great man’s house?
    And where are the tents where the evil men lived?’
29 You have never asked those who travel.
    You have not listened to their stories.
30 On the day of God’s anger and punishment,
    it is the evil man who is spared.
31 Who will accuse him to his face?
    No one pays him back for the evil he has done.
32 He is carried to his grave.
    And someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33 The dirt in the valley will seem sweet to him.
    Everybody follows after him.
    Many people go before him.

34 “So you cannot comfort me with this nonsense.
    Your answers are still only lies!”

Job

21 Then Job replied:

“Listen carefully to my words;(A)
    let this be the consolation you give me.(B)
Bear with me while I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.(C)

“Is my complaint(D) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?(E)
Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.(F)
When I think about this, I am terrified;(G)
    trembling seizes my body.(H)
Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?(I)
They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.(J)
Their homes are safe and free from fear;(K)
    the rod of God is not on them.(L)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.(M)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(N)
    their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(O)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(P)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(Q)
    and go down to the grave(R) in peace.[a](S)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(T)
    We have no desire to know your ways.(U)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’(V)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(W)

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(X)
    How often does calamity(Y) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?(Z)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff(AA) swept away(AB) by a gale?(AC)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(AD)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(AE)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(AF)
    let them drink(AG) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(AH)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(AI)
    when their allotted months(AJ) come to an end?(AK)

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(AL)
    since he judges even the highest?(AM)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(AN)
    completely secure and at ease,(AO)
24 well nourished(AP) in body,[b]
    bones(AQ) rich with marrow.(AR)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(AS)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(AT)
    and worms(AU) cover them both.(AV)

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(AW)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’(AX)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(AY)
    that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath?(AZ)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?(BA)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.(BB)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(BC)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes[d] before them.(BD)

34 “So how can you console me(BE) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”(BF)

Footnotes

  1. Job 21:13 Or in an instant
  2. Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
  4. Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went