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21:1  Then Job answered:
21:2  “Listen to what I say. Let this be your way of comforting me.
21:3  Be patient while I speak. Then after I have finished speaking, you may make fun of me.
21:4  “My complaint is not against people. There is a good reason why I am not patient.
21:5  Look at me and be shocked. Put your hand over your mouth, and stare at me in shock!
21:6  When I think about what happened to me, I feel afraid and my body shakes!
21:7  Why do evil people live long lives? Why do they grow old and successful?
21:8  They watch their children grow up and live to see their grandchildren.
21:9  Their homes are safe and free from fear. God does not punish them.
21:10  Their bulls never fail to mate. Their cows have healthy calves.
21:11  They send their children out to play like lambs. Their children dance around.
21:12  They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes.
21:13  Evil people enjoy success during their lives and then go to the grave without suffering.
21:14  They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We don’t care what you want us to do!’
21:15  And they say, ‘Who is God All-Powerful? We don’t need to serve him! It will not help to pray to him!’
21:16  “Of course, evil people don’t make their own success. I would never follow their advice.
21:17  But how often does God blow out their light? How often does trouble come to them? How often does God get angry with them and punish them?
21:18  Does God blow them away, as the wind blows straw or as strong winds blow the grain husks?
21:19  But you say, ‘God is saving their punishment for their children.’ No! Let God punish the evil people themselves so that they will know what they have done!
21:20  Let them see their own punishment. Let them feel the anger of God All-Powerful.
21:21  When their life is finished and they are dead, they will not care about the family they leave behind.
21:22  “No one can teach God anything he doesn’t already know. God judges even those in high places.
21:23  One person dies after living a full and successful life, a life completely safe and comfortable,
21:24  with a body that was well fed and bones that were still strong.
21:25  But another person dies after a hard life that has made them bitter, never having enjoyed anything good.
21:26  In the end, both of these people will lie together in the dirt. The worms will cover them both.
21:27  “But I know what you are thinking, and I know you want to hurt me.
21:28  You might say, ‘Show me a good man’s house. Now, show me where evil people live.’
21:29  “Surely you have talked with travelers. Surely you will accept their stories.
21:30  Evil people are spared when disaster comes. They survive when God shows his anger.
21:31  No one criticizes them to their faces for how they lived. No one punishes them for the evil they have done.
21:32  When they are carried to the grave, they will have someone to watch over the place they are buried.
21:33  So even the soil in the valley will be pleasant for them, and thousands of people will join their funeral procession.
21:34  “So your empty words are no comfort to me. There is no truth at all in your answers!”