21:1 Then Job answered and said,

21:2 Listen carefully¹ to my words;
let this be² the consolation you give me.³
21:3 Bear with me⁴ and I⁵ will speak,
and after I have spoken⁶ you may mock.⁷
21:4 Is my⁸ complaint against a man?⁹
If so,¹⁰ why should I not be impatient?¹¹
21:5 Look¹² at me and be appalled;
and put your hands over your mouths.¹³
21:6 For, when I think¹⁴ about this, I am terrified¹⁵
and my body feels a shudder.¹⁶

21:7 Why do the wicked live,¹⁷
grow old,¹⁸ even increase in power?
21:8 Their children¹⁹ are firmly established
in their presence,²⁰
their offspring before their eyes.
21:9 Their houses are safe²¹ and without fear;²²
and no rod of God is upon them.²³
21:10 Their bulls²⁴ breed²⁵ without fail;²⁶
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
21:11 They allow their children to run²⁷ as a flock;
and their little ones dance about.²⁸
21:12 They sing²⁹ to the tambourine and harp;
and they make merry to the sound of the flute.
21:13 They spend³⁰ their years in prosperity
and go down³¹ to the grave³² in peace.
21:14 So they say to God, “Turn away from us!
We do not want to³³ know your ways.³⁴
21:15 Who is the Almighty, that³⁵ we should serve him?
What would we gain
if we were to pray³⁶ to him?”³⁷
21:16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands.³⁸
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.³⁹

21:17 How often⁴⁰ is the lamp of the wicked extinguished?
How often does their⁴¹ misfortune come upon them?
How often does God apportion pain⁴²
to them⁴³ in his anger?
21:18 How often⁴⁴ are they like straw before the wind,
and like chaff swept away⁴⁵ by a whirlwind?
21:19 You may say,⁴⁶ “God stores up a man’s⁴⁷ punishment for his sons,”
Let him repay⁴⁸ the man himself⁴⁹
so that⁵⁰ he may know it!
21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction;⁵¹
let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21:21 For what is his interest⁵² in his home
after his death?⁵³
when the number of his months
has been broken off?⁵⁴ off
21:22 Can anyone teach⁵⁵ knowledge to God,
since⁵⁶ he judges those that are on high?⁵⁷

21:23 One man dies in his full vigor,⁵⁸
completely secure and at ease,
21:24 his body⁵⁹ well nourished,⁶⁰
and the marrow of his bones moist.⁶¹
21:25 And another man⁶² dies in bitterness of soul,⁶³
never having tasted⁶⁴ anything good.
21:26 Together they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover over them.

21:27 Yes, I know what you are thinking,⁶⁵
the schemes⁶⁶ by which you would wrong me.⁶⁷
21:28 For you say,
“Where now is the house of the nobleman,⁶⁸
and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?”⁶⁹
21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?
Do you not recognize their accounts⁷⁰—⁷¹
21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune
that he is delivered⁷²
from the day of misfortune.
21:31 Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what⁷³ he has done?
21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,
and watch is kept⁷⁴ over the funeral mound,⁷⁵
21:33 The clods of the torrent valley⁷⁶ are sweet to him;
behind him everybody follows in procession,
and before him a countless throng.
21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?
Nothing is left of your answers but deception!⁷⁷