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Chapter 21

Job’s Sixth Reply. Then Job answered and said:

At least listen to my words,(A)
    and let that be the consolation you offer.
Bear with me while I speak;
    and after I have spoken, you can mock!
Is my complaint toward any human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?
Look at me and be appalled,
    put your hands over your mouths.
When I think of it, I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
[a]Why do the wicked keep on living,
    grow old, become mighty in power?(B)
Their progeny is secure in their sight;
    their offspring are before their eyes.
Their homes are safe, without fear,
    and the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their young run free like sheep,
    their children skip about.
12 They sing along with drum and lyre,
    and make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13 They live out their days in prosperity,
    and tranquilly go down to Sheol.(C)
14 Yet they say to God, “Depart from us,(D)
    for we have no desire to know your ways!
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him?
    And what do we gain by praying to him?”(E)
16 Their happiness is not in their own hands.
    The designs of the wicked are far from me!(F)
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
    How often does destruction come upon them,
    the portion God allots in his anger?
18 Let them be like straw before the wind,
    like chaff the storm carries away!
19 “God is storing up the man’s misery for his children”?—
    let him requite the man himself so that he knows it!
20 Let his own eyes behold his calamity,
    and the wrath of the Almighty let him drink!
21 For what interest has he in his family after him,
    when the number of his months is finished?
22 Can anyone teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he judges those on high?[b]
23 One dies in his full vigor,
    wholly at ease and content;
24 His figure is full and nourished,
    his bones are moist with marrow.
25 Another dies with a bitter spirit,
    never having tasted happiness.
26 Alike they lie down in the dust,
    and worms cover them both.
27 See, I know your thoughts,
    and the arguments you plot against me.
28 For you say, “Where is the house of the great,
    and where the dwelling place of the wicked?”
29 Have you not asked the wayfarers
    and do you not acknowledge the witness they give?
30 On the day of calamity the evil man is spared,
    on the day that wrath is released.
31 Who will charge him to his face about his conduct,
    and for what he has done who will repay him?
32 He is carried to the grave
    and at his tomb they keep watch.
33 Sweet to him are the clods of the valley.
    All humankind will follow after him,
    and countless others before him.
34 How empty the consolation you offer me!
    Your arguments remain a fraud.

Footnotes

  1. 21:7 In vv. 7–29 Job launches into a realistic description of the fate of the wicked, contrary to the claims made by the friends.
  2. 21:22 Those on high: the heavenly beings; cf. 1:6; Ps 82:1–8.

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