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21:1  Then Job answered and said,
21:2  “Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be the consolation.
21:3  “Bear with me, and I also will speak; And after I have spoken, you may [continue to] mock [me].
21:4  “As for me, is my complaint to man or about him? And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?
21:5  “Look at me and be astonished and appalled; And put your hand over your mouth.
21:6  “Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid; Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.
21:7  “Why do the wicked still live, Become old, and become mighty in power?
21:8  “Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.
21:9  “Their houses are safe from fear; And the rod of God is not on them.
21:10  “His bull breeds and does not fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.
21:11  “They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children skip about.
21:12  “They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
21:13  “They fully enjoy their days in prosperity, And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment.
21:14  “Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
21:15  ‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
21:16  “But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power); The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.
21:17  “How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, And that their disaster falls on them? Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?
21:18  “Are they like straw before the wind, And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away?
21:19  “You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’ Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.
21:20  “Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21:21  “For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead, When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?
21:22  “Can anyone teach God knowledge, Seeing that He judges those on high?
21:23  “One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and quiet and satisfied;
21:24  His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat], And the marrow of his bones is moist,
21:25  Whereas another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting pleasure or good fortune.
21:26  “Together they lie down in the dust, And the worms cover them.
21:27  “Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots by which you would wrong me.
21:28  “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man? And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’
21:29  “Have you not asked those who travel this way, And do you not recognize their witness?
21:30  “That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction, They will be led away on the day of [God’s] wrath?
21:31  “But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face, And who will repay him for what he has done?
21:32  “When he is carried to his grave, A guard will keep watch over his tomb.
21:33  “The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him], Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave], While countless ones go before him.
21:34  “How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words, Since your answers remain untrue?”