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Job 21 :: New American Standard Bible 2020 (NASB20)

Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

Job 21:1

Then Job responded,

Job 21:2

“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

Job 21:3

“Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

Job 21:4

“As for me, is my complaint [fn]to a mortal?

Or why should [fn]I not be impatient?

Job 21:5

“Look at me, and be astonished,

And put your hand over your mouth.

Job 21:6

“Even when I remember, I am disturbed,

And horror takes hold of my flesh.

Job 21:7

“Why do the wicked still live,

Grow old, and also become very [fn]powerful?

Job 21:8

“Their [fn]descendants endure with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes,

Job 21:9

Their houses are safe from fear,

And the [fn]rod of God is not on them.

Job 21:10

“His ox mates [fn]without fail;

His cow calves and does not miscarry.

Job 21:11

“They send out their boys like the flock,

And their children dance.

Job 21:12

“They [fn]sing with the tambourine and harp,

And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

Job 21:13

“They spend their days in prosperity,

And [fn]suddenly they go down to [fn]Sheol.

Job 21:14

“Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

Job 21:15

[fn]Who is [fn]the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

Job 21:16

“Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The advice of the wicked is far from me.

Job 21:17

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their disaster fall on them?

Does [fn]God apportion destruction in His anger?

Job 21:18

“Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm carries away?

Job 21:19

You say, ‘God saves up [fn]a person’s [fn]wrongdoing for his sons.’

Let [fn]God repay him so that he may know it.

Job 21:20

“Let his own eyes see his destruction,

And let him drink of the wrath of [fn]the Almighty.

Job 21:21

“For what does he care about his household [fn]after him,

When the number of his months is at an end?

Job 21:22

“Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

Job 21:23

“One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

Job 21:24

His [fn]sides are filled with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is wet,

Job 21:25

While another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even [fn]tasting anything good.

Job 21:26

“Together they lie down in the dust,

And maggots cover them.

Job 21:27

“Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plots you devise against me.

Job 21:28

“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

Job 21:29

“Have you not asked travelers,

And do you not examine their [fn]evidence?

Job 21:30

“For the wicked person is spared [fn]a day of disaster;

They [fn]are led away from a day of fury.

Job 21:31

“Who [fn]confronts him with his actions,

And who repays him for what he has done?

Job 21:32

“When he is carried to the grave,

People will keep watch over his tomb.

Job 21:33

“The clods of the valley will [fn]gently cover him;

Moreover, all mankind will [fn]follow after him,

While countless others go before him.

Job 21:34

“So how dare you give me empty comfort?

For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”

NASB20 Footnotes
Or against
Lit my spirit
Or superior
Lit seed
I.e., punishment
Lit and does not fail
Lit lifted up the voice
Or in peacefulness
I.e., the netherworld
Lit What
Heb Shaddai
Lit He
Lit his
Or disaster
Lit Him
Heb Shaddai
I.e., after he dies
As in Syriac; Heb uncertain. Some render as his pails are full of milk
Lit eating
Lit signs
Or for the day
Or will be led to the day
Lit declares his way to his face
Lit be sweet to him
Lit draw
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New American Standard Bible 2020
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Job Chapter 21 — Additional Translations: