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21:1  Then Job replied. This is what he said:
21:2  ‘Listen carefully to the things that I am saying. You can only help me if you do that.
21:3  Be patient with me so that I can speak. After you have heard what I say, you may choose to laugh at me.
21:4  It is not people that I want to argue with. So I have good reason to be upset.
21:5  When you look at me, you should be upset. You should cover your mouth with your hand.
21:6  I think about what has happened to me. It makes me very afraid. My body shakes with fear.
21:7  Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time? The older they become, the more power they have.
21:8  They see their own children grow and become strong. Their children also have strong families.
21:9  They are safe in their homes and they are not afraid. God does not punish them.
21:10  Their cows give birth safely to many calves.
21:11  Their children run and play. They jump like young lambs.
21:12  They enjoy the music of tambourines and harps. They sing with joy to the sound of flutes.
21:13  Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives. Even when they die, they do not suffer.
21:14  They say to God, “Leave us alone! We do not want to know about your ways.
21:15  We do not need to serve the Almighty God. If we pray to him, there is nothing he can do to help us.”
21:16  They think that they have made themselves rich. But it is not true. So I do not listen to the things that wicked people say.
21:17  It seems that wicked people enjoy a long life. They do not often have many troubles. When God is angry with them, he does not cause them to suffer.
21:18  He does not blow them away, like the wind blows dry grass. They do not disappear like chaff that a storm blows away.
21:19  You may say, “God will punish a wicked person's children with the punishment that he deserves.” But I say that God should punish the wicked person himself. Then he will realize that he is wicked.
21:20  Wicked people should receive their own punishment. They should see that Almighty God is angry with them.
21:21  After wicked people have died, it does not matter to them if their family suffers.
21:22  No one can teach God what he should do. He himself judges the most powerful rulers.
21:23  One person has good health all his life. Even when he is ready to die, he still lives a safe and happy life.
21:24  He eats good food and his body is strong.
21:25  But another person is sad all his life, until he dies. No good things ever happen to him.
21:26  But they all die one day and their bodies lie under the ground. Worms cover their bodies, whoever they are.
21:27  I know what you are thinking. You want to show that I am guilty.
21:28  You say, “You see that the rich person no longer has a house. Wicked people no longer have homes to live in.”
21:29  But you should ask people who travel to different places. You should listen to the things that they say.
21:30  They would tell you that wicked people do not always suffer. When trouble comes, they continue to be safe. When God is angry with people, wicked people escape punishment.
21:31  No one speaks against them to say that they are guilty. No one punishes them for the bad things that they have done.
21:32  When a wicked person dies, people bury him with honour. Guards watch over his grave.
21:33  A big crowd of people come to his funeral. They make a heap of earth over his body, in the valley where he rests happily.
21:34  So your useless words do not comfort me. Your answers are all lies!’