Job 21

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Job spoke next. He said:	1 Then Job responded by saying:
2 Listen careful y to my words; let this be the consolation you allow me.	2 I beseech you to hear my words and to do penance.
3 Permit me to speak in my turn; you may jeer when I have spoken.	3 Permit me, and I will speak, and afterwards, if you see fit, you can laugh at my words.
4 Is my complaint just about a fellow-mortal? I have good grounds to be perturbed!	4 Is my dispute against man, so that I would have no reason to be discouraged?
5 Give your attention to me; you wil be dumbfounded and wil place your hand over your mouth.	5 Listen to me and be astonished, and place a finger over your mouth.
6 I myself am appalled at the very thought, and my flesh creeps.	6 As for me, when I think it over, I am afraid, and trembling convulses my body.
7 Why do the wicked stil live on, their power increasing with their age?	7 Why then do the impious live, having been lifted up and strengthened with riches?
8 They see their posterity assured, and their offspring secure before their eyes.	8 They see their offspring continue before them: a commotion of close relatives and of children’s children in their sight.
9 The peace of their houses has nothing to fear, the rod that God wields is not for them.	9 Their houses have been secure and peaceable, and there is no staff of God over them.
10 No mishap with their bull at breeding-time, nor miscarriage with their cow at calving.	10 Their cattle have conceived and have not miscarried; their cow has given birth and is not deprived of her newborn.
11 They let their infants frisk like lambs, their children dance like deer.	11 Their little ones go out like a flock, and their children jump around playfully.
12 They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.	12 They take up the timbrel and the lyre, and they rejoice at the sound of the organ.
13 They end their lives in happiness and go down in peace to Sheol.	13 Their days are prolonged in wealth, yet, in an instant, they descend into hell.
14 Yet these are the ones who say to God, 'Go away! We do not want to learn your ways.	14 Who has said to God, “Depart from us, for we do not want the knowledge of your ways.
15 What is the point of our serving Shaddai? What should we gain from praying to him?'	15 Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And how is it helpful to us if we pray to him?”
16 Surely they have won their own prosperity, since God is kept so far from their plans?	16 It is true that their good things are not in their power. May the counsel of the impious be far from me!
17 Do we often see the light of the wicked put out, or disaster overtake him, or the retribution of Goddestroy his possessions,	17 How often will the lamp of the wicked be extinguished, and a deluge overtake them, and how often will he distribute the afflictions of his wrath?
18 or the wind blow him away like a straw, or a whirlwind carry him off like chaff?	18 They will be like chaff before the face of the wind, and like ashes that the whirlwind scatters.
19 So God is storing up punishment for his children? But the wicked himself should be punished, andshould know it!	19 God will preserve the grief of the father for his sons, and, when he repays, then he will understand.
20 He himself should witness his own ruin, and himself drink the anger of Shaddai.	20 His eyes will see his own destruction, and he will drink from the wrath of the Almighty.
21 Once he is gone, what joy can he gain from his family, once the number of his months has been cutoff?	21 For what does he care what happens to his house after him, or if the number of its months are reduced by half?
22 But who can teach wisdom to God, to him who is judge of those on high?	22 Can anyone teach holy knowledge to God, who judges the exalted?
23 And again: one person dies in the ful ness of strength, in all possible happiness and ease,	23 This one dies strong and healthy, rich and happy.
24 thighs padded with fat and the marrow in the bones good and moist.	24 His gut is full of fat and his bones are moistened with marrow.
25 Another dies in bitterness of heart, never having tasted happiness.	25 In truth, another dies in bitterness of soul, without any resources.
26 They lie together down in the dust and the worms soon cover them both.	26 And yet they will sleep together in the dust, and worms will cover them.
27 Oh, I know what is in your minds, what you so spiteful y think about me!	27 Surely, I know your thoughts and your sinful judgments against me.
28 'What has become of the great lord's house,' you say, 'where is the tent where the wicked used tolive?'	28 For you say, “Where is the house of the ruler, and where are the tabernacles of the impious?”
29 Have you never questioned people who travel, do you not understand the testimony they give:	29 Ask any passerby whom you wish, and you will realize that he understands these same things:
30 on the day of disaster, the wicked is spared, on the day of retribution, he is kept safe?	30 that the evil-doer is reserved for the day of destruction, and he will be led to the day of wrath.
31 And who is there then to reproach him for his deeds and to pay him back for the things he has done?	31 Who will reprove his way to his face, and who will repay him for what he has done?
32 He is carried away to the cemetery, and a watch is kept at his tomb.	32 He will be led to the tomb, and he will remain awake in the chaos of the dead.
33 The clods of the ravine lie easy on him, and the whole population walk behind.	33 He has been found acceptable to the banks of the River of Lamentation, and he will draw any man towards him, and there are countless before him.
34 So what sense is there in your empty consolation? your answers are the left-overs of infidelity!	34 Therefore, how long will you console me in vain, when your answer is shown to be repugnant to truth?