Job, Chapter 21: BIBLE, New American Standard Bible == BIBLE-CENTER

Job, Chapter 21

¹ Then Job^aanswered,
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 mock.
⁴ “As for me, is my complaint^bto man?
And why should^cI not be impatient?
⁵ “Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ “Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And horror takes hold of my flesh.
⁷ “Why do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very powerful?
⁸ “Their^ddescendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
And the rod of God is not on them.
¹⁰ “His ox mates^ewithout 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^fsing to the timbrel and harp
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
¹³ “They spend their days in prosperity,
And^gsuddenly they go down to^hSheol.
¹⁴ “They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
¹⁵ ‘ⁱWho is^jthe Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
¹⁶ “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does^kGod apportion destruction in His anger?
¹⁸ “Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm carries away?
¹⁹ “You say, ‘God stores away^la man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let^mGod repay him so that he may know it.
²⁰ “Let his own eyes see his decay,
And let him drink of the wrath ofⁿthe Almighty.
²¹ “For what does he care for his household^oafter him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
²² “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?
²³ “One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and^psatisfied;
²⁴ His^qsides are filled out with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
²⁵ While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even^rtasting anything good.
²⁶ “Together they lie down in the dust,
And 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 the nobleman,
And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
²⁹ “Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their^switness?
³⁰ “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.
³¹ “Who will^tconfront 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 clods of the valley will^ugently cover him;
Moreover, all men will^vfollow after him,
While countless ones go before him.
³⁴ “How then will you vainly comfort me,
For your answers remain full of^wfalsehood?”


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