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21:1  Job said:
21:2  If you want to offer comfort, then listen to me.
21:3  And when I have finished, you can start your insults all over again.
21:4  My complaint is against God; that's why I am impatient.
21:5  Just looking at me is enough to make you sick,
21:6  and the very thought of myself fills me with disgust.
21:7  Why do evil people live so long and gain such power?
21:8  Why are they allowed to see their children grow up?
21:9  They have no worries at home, and God never punishes them.
21:10  Their cattle have lots of calves without ever losing one;
21:11  their children play and dance safely by themselves.
21:12  These people sing and celebrate to the sound of tambourines, small harps, and flutes,
21:13  and they are successful, without a worry, until the day they die.
21:14  Those who are evil say to God All-Powerful, “Leave us alone! Don't bother us with your teachings.
21:15  What do we gain from praying and worshiping you?
21:16  We succeeded all on our own.” And so, I keep away from them and their evil schemes.
21:17  How often does God become angry and send disaster and darkness to punish sinners?
21:18  How often does he strike them like a windstorm that scatters straw?
21:19  You say, “God will punish those sinners' children in place of those sinners.” But I say, “Let him punish those sinners themselves until they really feel it.
21:20  Let God All-Powerful force them to drink their own destruction from the cup of his anger.
21:21  Because after they are dead, they won't care what happens to their children.”
21:22  Who can tell God what to do? He judges powerful rulers. *
21:23  Some of us die prosperous,
21:24  enjoying good health,
21:25  while others die in poverty, having known only pain.
21:26  But we all end up dead, beneath a blanket of worms.
21:27  My friends, I know that you are plotting against me.
21:28  You ask, “Where is the home of that important person who does so much evil?”
21:29  Everyone, near and far, agrees
21:30  that those who do wrong never suffer disaster, when God becomes angry.
21:31  No one points out their sin or punishes them.
21:32  Then at their funerals, they are highly praised;
21:33  the earth welcomes them home, while crowds mourn.
21:34  But empty, meaningless words are the comfort you offer me.