Parallel Bible results for "Job 21"

Job 21

New International Reader's Version NIRV

1 Job replied,

2 "Listen carefully to what I'm saying. Let that be the comfort you people give me.

3 Put up with me while I speak. After I've spoken, you can make fun of me!

4 "I'm not arguing with mere human beings. So why shouldn't I be angry and uneasy?

5 Look at me and be amazed. Put your hand over your mouth and stop talking!

6 When I think about these things, I'm terrified. My whole body trembles.

7 Why do sinful people keep on living? The older they grow, the richer they get.

8 They see their children grow up around them. They watch their family increase in number.

9 Their homes are safe. They don't have to be afraid. God isn't punishing them.

10 Every time their bulls mate, their cows become pregnant. And the calves don't die before they are born.

11 Sinful people send their children out like a flock of lambs. Their little ones dance around.

12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps. They have a good time while flutes are being played.

13 Those who are evil spend their years living well. They go down to their graves in peace.

14 But they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know how you want us to live.

15 Who is the Mighty One? Why should we serve him? What would we get if we prayed to him?'

16 But they aren't in control of their own success. So I don't pay any attention to the advice they give.

17 "How often are their lamps blown out? How often does trouble come on them? How often does God punish them when he's angry?

18 How often are they like dried-up seed coverings blowing in the wind? How often are they like straw swept away by a storm?

19 People say, 'God punishes a man's children for his sins.' But let him punish the man himself. Then he'll learn a lesson from it.

20 Let his own eyes see how he is destroyed. Let him drink the wine of the Mighty One's anger.

21 What does he care about the family he leaves behind? What does he care about them when his life comes to an end?

22 "Can anyone teach God anything? After all, he judges even the angels in heaven.

23 Some people die while they are still very strong. They are completely secure. They have an easy life.

24 They are well fed. Their bodies are healthy.

25 Others die while their spirits are bitter. They've never enjoyed anything good.

26 Side by side they lie in the dust of death. The worms in their graves cover all of them.

27 "I know exactly what you people are thinking. I know you are planning to do bad things to me.

28 You are saying to yourselves, 'Where is the great man's house now? Where are the tents where his evil family lived?'

29 Haven't you ever asked questions of those who travel? Haven't you paid any attention to their stories?

30 They'll tell you that sinful people are spared from the day of trouble. They'll say that those people are saved from the day when God will judge.

31 Who speaks against them for the way they act? Who pays them back for what they've done?

32 Their bodies will be carried to their graves. Guards will watch over their tombs.

33 The soil in the valley will be pleasant to those who have died. Many people will walk along behind their bodies. Many others will walk in front of them.

34 "So how can you comfort me with your speeches? They don't make any sense at all. Your answers are nothing but lies!"

New International Version NIV

1 Then Job replied:

2 “Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me.

3 Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on.

4 “Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth.

6 When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body.

7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?

8 They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

11 They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about.

12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe.

13 They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.

14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’

16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger?

18 How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale?

19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’ Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!

20 Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end?

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest?

23 One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease,

24 well nourished in body,bones rich with marrow.

25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good.

26 Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both.

27 “I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great, the tents where the wicked lived?’

29 Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts—

30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from the day of wrath?

31 Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done?

32 They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs.

33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them, and a countless throng goes before them.

34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”