Job’s Reply
1Job replied,
2“Listen carefully to what I’m saying.
Let that be the comfort you people give me.
3Put up with me while I speak.
After I’ve spoken, you can make fun of me!
4“I’m not arguing with mere human beings.
So why shouldn’t I be angry and uneasy?
5Look at me and be shocked.
Put your hand over your mouth and stop talking!
6When I think about these things, I’m terrified.
My whole body trembles.
7Why do sinful people keep on living?
The older they grow, the richer they get.
8They see their children grow up around them.
They watch their family grow larger.
9Their homes are safe.
They don’t have to be afraid.
God isn’t punishing them.
10Every time their bulls mate, their cows become pregnant.
And the calves don’t die before they are born.
11Sinful people send their children out like a flock of lambs.
Their little ones dance around.
12They sing to the music of tambourines and lyres.
They have a good time while flutes are being played.
13Those who are evil spend their years living well.
They go down to their graves in peace.
14But they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know how you want us to live.
15Who is the Mighty One? Why should we serve him?
What would we get if we prayed to him?’
16But they aren’t in control of their own success.
So I don’t pay any attention to their plans.
17“How often are their lamps blown out?
How often does trouble come on them?
How often does God punish them when he’s angry?
18How often are they like straw blowing in the wind?
How often are they like tumbleweeds swept away by a storm?
19People say, ‘God stores up the punishment of evil people for their children.’
But let God punish the evil people themselves.
Then they’ll learn a lesson from it.
20Let their own eyes see how they are destroyed.
Let them drink the wine of the Mighty One’s anger.
21What do they care about the families they leave behind?
What do they care about them
when their lives come to an end?
22“Can anyone teach God anything?
After all, he judges even the angels in heaven.
23Some people die while they are still very strong.
They are completely secure. They have an easy life.
24They are well fed.
Their bodies are healthy.
25Others die while their spirits are bitter.
They’ve never enjoyed anything good.
26Side by side they lie in the dust of death.
The worms in their graves cover all of them.
27“I know exactly what you people are thinking.
I know you are planning to do bad things to me.
28You are saying to yourselves,
‘Where is the great man’s house now?
Where are the tents where his evil family lived?’
29Haven’t you ever asked questions of those who travel?
Haven’t you paid any attention to their stories?
30They’ll tell you that sinful people
are spared from the day of trouble.
They’ll say that those people
are saved from the day when God will judge.
31Who speaks against them for the way they act?
Who pays them back for what they’ve done?
32Their bodies will be carried to their graves.
Guards will watch over their tombs.
33The soil in the valley will be pleasant
to those who have died.
Many people will walk along behind their bodies.
Many others will walk in front of them.
34“So how can you comfort me with your speeches?
They don’t make any sense at all.
Your answers are nothing but lies!”
Job
1Then Job replied:
2“Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.
3Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4“Is my complaint directed to a human being?
Why should I not be impatient?
5Look at me and be appalled;
clap your hand over your mouth.
6When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.
7Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?
8They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.
9Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not on them.
10Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;
they make merry to the sound of the pipe.
13They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave in peace.21:13 Or in an instant
14Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’
16But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
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?
18How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?
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!
20Let their own eyes see their destruction;
let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.
21For what do they care about the families they leave behind
when their allotted months come to an end?
22“Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?
23One person dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,
24well nourished in body,21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
bones rich with marrow.
25Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
26Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.
27“I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,
the tents where the wicked lived?’
29Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,
that they are delivered from21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to the day of wrath?
31Who denounces their conduct to their face?
Who repays them for what they have done?
32They are carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over their tombs.
33The soil in the valley is sweet to them;
everyone follows after them,
and a countless throng goes21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went before them.
34“So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”
