| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1But Job answered and said, | 1Then Job replied: |
| 2Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. | 2"Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me. |
| 3Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. | 3Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. |
| 4As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? | 4"Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient? |
| 5Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. | 5Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth. |
| 6Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. | 6When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. |
| 7Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? | 7Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? |
| 8Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. | 8They see their children established around them, their offspring 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; the rod of God is not on them. |
| 10Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. | 10Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry. |
| 11They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. | 11They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about. |
| 12They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. | 12They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe. |
| 13They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. | 13They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. |
| 14Therefore 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 have no desire to know your ways. |
| 15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? | 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?' |
| 16Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. | 16But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. |
| 17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. | 17"Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? |
| 18They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. | 18How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? |
| 19God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. | 19It is said, 'God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.' Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it! |
| 20His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. | 20Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty. |
| 21For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? | 21For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end? |
| 22Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. | 22"Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? |
| 23One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. | 23One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, |
| 24His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. | 24well nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. |
| 25And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. | 25Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. |
| 26They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. | 26Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both. |
| 27Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. | 27"I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me. |
| 28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? | 28You say, 'Where now is the house of the great, the tents where the wicked lived?' |
| 29Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, | 29Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts-- |
| 30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. | 30that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from the day of wrath? |
| 31Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? | 31Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done? |
| 32Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. | 32They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs. |
| 33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. | 33The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them, and a countless throng goes before them. |
| 34How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood? | 34"So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!" |
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