Job 21

1Then Job answered and said,

1Then Job responded, saying:

2Hear diligently my speech; And let this be your consolations.

2Listen carefully to my words; let this be the comfort you offer me.

3Suffer me, and I also will speak; And after that I have spoken, mock on.

3Be patient with me while I speak; and after I have finished, you can keep on mocking me.

4As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?

4Is my complaint directed at humans? If so, why shouldn't I be impatient?

5Mark me, and be astonished, And lay your hand upon your mouth.

5Look at me and be shocked; put your hand over your mouth in silence.

6Even when I remember I am troubled, And horror taketh hold on my flesh.

6When I think about this, I am terrified, and my whole body shakes with horror.

7Wherefore do the wicked live, Become old, yea, wax mighty in power?

7Why do wicked people go on living, reaching old age and growing more powerful?

8Their seed is established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.

8They see their children established around them, and their descendants are right before their eyes.

9Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them.

9Their homes are safe and free from fear; God does not use his rod to punish them.

10Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.

10Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows give birth and never lose a calf.

11They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.

11They let their little children run free like a flock of lambs, and their youngsters dance about.

12They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.

12They sing to the music of tambourines and harps; they celebrate to the sound of the flute.

13They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment they go down to Sheol.

13They spend their lives in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

14And they say unto God, Depart from us; For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

14Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know your ways.'

15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

15'Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?'

16Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

16But their prosperity is not in their own power. I want nothing to do with the advice of the wicked.

17How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity cometh upon them? ThatGod distributeth sorrows in his anger?

17How often is the lamp of the wicked actually put out? How often does disaster really strike them, or God distribute sorrow to them in his anger?

18That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?

18How often are they like straw blown by the wind, or like chaff swept away by a storm?

19Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children. Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it:

19You say, 'God saves a man's punishment for his children.' Let God punish the man himself so he actually feels it!

20Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

20Let the wicked man's own eyes see his destruction; let him drink the wrath of the Almighty himself.

21For what careth he for his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off?

21For what does he care about the family he leaves behind once his own life is over?

22Shall any teach God knowledge, Seeing he judgeth those that are high?

22Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he is the one who judges even those in high places?

23One dieth in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet:

23One person dies in full strength, feeling completely secure and at ease,

24His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moistened.

24their body well-nourished and their bones healthy and strong.另

25And another dieth in bitterness of soul, And never tasteth of good.

25But another person dies in bitter suffering, having never tasted anything good.

26They lie down alike in the dust, And the worm covereth them.

26In the end, they both lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.

27Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me.

27Look, I know what you are thinking and the schemes you are using to wrong me.直

28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt?

28You ask, 'Where is the house of the great man now? Where are the tents where the wicked lived?'

29Have ye not asked wayfaring men? And do ye not know their evidences,

29Have you never questioned those who travel? Do you ignore the stories they tell?

30That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity? That they are led forth to the day of wrath?

30They say that the evil person is spared in the day of disaster and is rescued from the day of God's anger.

31Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done?

31Who confronts the wicked to their face about their behavior? Who pays them back for what they have done?

32Yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb.

32When they are carried to the grave, a guard is even placed over their tomb.

33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, And all men shall draw after him, As there were innumerable before him.

33The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them to the grave, just as countless people went before them.

34How then comfort ye me in vain, Seeing in your answers there remaineth only falsehood?

34So how can you comfort me with these empty words? Your answers are nothing but falsehoods.