Job 21

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Then Job said in reply:	1 Then Job answered, and said:
2 At least listen to my words, and let that be the consolation you offer.	2 Hear, I beseech you, my words, and do penance.
3 Bear with me while I speak; and after I have spoken, you can mock!	3 Suffer me, and I will speak, and after, if you please, laugh at my words.
4 Is my complaint toward man? And why should I not be impatient?	4 Is my debate against man, that I should not have just reason to be troubled?
5 Look at me and be astonished, put your hands over your mouths.	5 Hearken to me and be astonished, and lay your finger on your mouth.
6 When I think of it, I am dismayed, and horror takes hold on my flesh.	6 As for me, when I remember, I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
7 Why do the wicked survive, grow old, become mighty in power?	7 Why then do the wicked live, are they advanced, and strengthened with riches?
8 Their progeny is secure in their sight; they see before them their kinsfolk and their offspring.	8 Their seed continueth before them, a multitude of kinsmen, and of children's children in their sight.
9 Their homes are safe and without fear, nor is the scourge of God upon them.	9 Their houses are secure and peaceable, and the rod of God is not upon them.
10 Their bulls gender without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.	10 Their cattle have conceived, and failed not: their cow has calved, and is not deprived of her fruit.
11 These folk have infants numerous as lambs, and their children dance.	11 Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children dance and play.
12 They sing to the timbrel and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.	12 They take the timbrel, and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13 They live out their days in prosperity, and tranquilly go down to the nether world.	13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment they go down to hell.
14 Yet they say to God, "Depart from us, for we have no wish to learn your ways!	14 Who have said to God: Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15 What is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what gain shall we have if we pray to him?"	15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what doth it profit us if we pray to him?
16 If their happiness is not in their own hands and if the counsel of the wicked is repulsive to God,	16 Yet because their good things are not in their hand, may the counsel of the wicked be far from me.
17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does destruction come upon them, the portion he allots in his anger?	17 How often shall the lamp of the wicked be put out, and a deluge come upon them, and he shall distribute the sorrows of his wrath?
18 Let them be like straw before the wind, and like chaff which the storm snatches away!	18 They shall be as chaff before the face of the wind, and as ashes which the whirlwind scattereth.
19 May God not store up the man's misery for his children; let him requite the man himself so that he feels it,	19 God shall lay up the sorrow of the father for his children: and when he shall repay, then shall he know.
20 Let his own eyes see the calamity, and the wrath of the Almighty let him drink!	20 His eyes shall see his own destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what interest has he in his family after him, when the number of his months is finished?	21 For what is it to him what befalleth his house after him: and if the number of his months be diminished by one half?
22 Can anyone teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those on high?	22 Shall any one teach God knowledge, who judgeth those that are high?
23 One dies in his full vigor, wholly at ease and content;	23 One man dieth strong, and hale, rich and happy.
24 His figure is full and nourished, and his bones are rich in marrow.	24 His bowels are full of fat, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, having never tasted happiness.	25 But another dieth in bitterness of soul without any riches:
26 Alike they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both.	26 And yet they shall sleep together in the dust, and worms shall cover them.
27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and the arguments you rehearse against me.	27 Surely I know your thoughts, and your unjust judgments against me.
28 For you say, "Where is the house of the magnate, and where the dwelling place of the wicked?"	28 For you say: Where is the house of the prince ? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
29 Have you not asked the wayfarers and do you not recognize their monuments?	29 Ask any one of them that go by the way, and you shall perceive that he knoweth these same things.
30 Nay, the evil man is spared calamity when it comes;	30 Because the wicked man is reserved to the day of destruction, and he shall be brought to the day of wrath.
31 Who will charge him with his conduct to his face, and for what he has done who will repay him?	31 Who shall reprove his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
32 and on the day he is carried to the grave	32 He shall be brought to the graves, and shall watch in the heap of the dead.
33 Sweet to him are the clods of the valley, and over him the funeral mound keeps watch, While all the line of mankind follows him, and the countless others who have gone before.	33 He hath been acceptable to the gravel of Cocytus, and he shall draw every man after him, and there are innumerable before him.
34 How then can you offer me vain comfort, while in your answers perfidy remains?	34 How then do ye comfort me in vain, whereas your answer is shewn to be repugnant to truth ?