Job 21
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New International VersionHolman Christian Standard Bible
1Then Job replied:1Then Job answered:
2"Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.
3Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4"Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient?4As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn't I be impatient?
5Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth.5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth.
6When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body.6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror.
7Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?
8They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes.
9Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them.9Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them.
10Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry.10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about.11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,
12They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe.12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.
13They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.
14Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways.14Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone! We don't want to know Your ways.
15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?'15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?"
16But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.16But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!
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?17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does He apportion destruction in His anger?
18How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?
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!19God reserves a person's punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.
20Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath!
21For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end?21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?
22"Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges the exalted ones?
23One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease,23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease.
24well nourished in body, bones rich with marrow.24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow.
25Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good.25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity.
26Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both.26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.
27"I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.27I know your thoughts very well, the schemes you would wrong me with.
28You say, 'Where now is the house of the great, the tents where the wicked lived?'28For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?"
29Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts--29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports?
30that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from the day of wrath?30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.
31Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done?31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done?
32They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs.32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them, and a countless throng goes before them.33The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.
34"So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!"34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.
New International Version (NIV)

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Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Job 20
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