Job 21

Job’s Reply to Zophar

1 Then Job answered:

2 Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.
3 Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

4 As for me, is my complaint ^a against a man?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me and shudder; ^b
put your hand over your mouth. ^c
6 When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles ^d in horror.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live,
growing old and becoming powerful?
8 Their children are established while they are still alive, ^{▼▼Lit established before them with them}
and their descendants, before their eyes.
9 Their homes are secure and free of fear; ^f
no rod from God strikes them. ^g
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. ^h
13 They spend ^{▼▼Alt Hb tradition reads fully enjoy} their days in prosperity ^j
and go down to ^{▼▼Sheol: A Hebrew word for either the grave or the realm of the dead}Sheol in peace.
14 Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know Your ways. ^l
15 Who is the ^{▼▼God Almighty: The Hebrew word is El Shaddai; El = "God," but the meaning of Shaddai is disputed; traditionally it is translated "Almighty".}Almighty, that we should serve Him,
and what will we gain by pleading with Him?” ⁿ
16 But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me! ^o

17 How often is the lamp ^p of the wicked put out?
Does disaster ^{▼▼Lit their disaster} come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?
18 Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff ^r a storm sweeps away?
19 God reserves a person’s punishment for his children. ^s
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.
20 Let his own eyes see his demise;
let him drink from the Almighty’s wrath! ^t
21 For what does he care about his family once he is dead, ^u
when the number of his months has run out? ^v

22 Can anyone teach God knowledge, ^w
since He judges the exalted ones? ^{▼▼Probably angels}
23 One person dies in excellent health, ^{▼▼Lit in bone of his perfection}
completely secure ^{▼▼Text emended; MT reads health, all at ease} and at ease.
24 His 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}
25 Yet another person dies with a bitter ^ad soul,
having never tasted prosperity.
26 But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them. ^ae

27 I know your thoughts very well,
the schemes you would wrong me with.
28 For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?”
and “Where are the tents ^af the wicked lived in?”
29 Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don’t you accept their reports? ^{▼▼Lit signs}
30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,
rescued from the day of wrath.
31 Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay ^ah him for what he has done?
32 He is carried to the grave,
and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33 The 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.

34 So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.