Parallel Bible results for "job 21"

Job 21

New Century Version NCV

1 Then Job answered:

2 "Listen carefully to my words, and let this be the way you comfort me.

3 Be patient while I speak. After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me.

4 "My complaint is not just against people; I have reason to be impatient.

5 Look at me and be shocked; put your hand over your mouth in shock.

6 When I think about this, I am terribly afraid and my body shakes.

7 Why do evil people live a long time? They grow old and become more powerful.

8 They see their children around them; they watch them grow up.

9 Their homes are safe and without fear; God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to mate; their cows have healthy calves.

11 They send out their children like a flock; their little ones dance about.

12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps, and the sound of the flute makes them happy.

13 Evil people enjoy successful lives and then go peacefully to the grave.

14 They say to God, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know your ways.

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

16 The success of the wicked is not their own doing. Their way of thinking is different from mine.

17 Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off? How often does trouble come to them?

18 How often are they like straw in the wind or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?

19 It is said, 'God saves up a person's punishment for his children.' But God should punish the wicked themselves so they will know it.

20 Their eyes should see their own destruction, and they should suffer the anger of the Almighty.

21 They do not care about the families they leave behind when their lives have come to an end.

22 "No one can teach knowledge to God; he is the one who judges even the most important people.

23 One person dies while he still has all his strength, feeling completely safe and comfortable.

24 His body was well fed, and his bones were strong and healthy.

25 But another person dies with an unhappy heart, never enjoying any happiness.

26 They are buried next to each other, and worms cover them both.

27 "I know very well your thoughts and your plans to wrong me.

28 You ask about me, 'Where is this great man's house? Where are the tents where the wicked live?'

29 Have you never asked those who travel? Have you never listened to their stories?

30 On the day of God's anger and punishment, it is the wicked who are spared.

31 Who will accuse them to their faces? Who will pay them back for the evil they have done?

32 They are carried to their graves, and someone keeps watch over their tombs.

33 The dirt in the valley seems sweet to them. Everybody follows after them, and many people go before them.

34 "So how can you comfort me with this nonsense? Your answers are only lies!"

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 Then Iyov responded:

2 "Listen carefully to my words; let this be the comfort you give me.

3 Bear with me as I speak; then, after I have spoken, you can go on mocking.

4 "As for me, is my complaint merely to other people? Don't I have grounds for being short-tempered?

5 Look at me, and be appalled; cover your mouth with your hand!

6 Whenever I recall it, I am in shock; my whole body shudders.

7 "Why do the wicked go on living, grow old and keep increasing their power?

8 They see their children settled with them, their posterity assured.

9 Their houses are safe, with nothing to fear; God's rod is not on them.

10 Their bulls are fertile without fail, their cows get pregnant and don't miscarry.

11 They produce flocks of babies, and their children dance around.

12 They sing with tambourines and lyres and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.

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

14 "Yet to God they said, 'Leave us alone! We don't want to know about your ways.

15 What is Shaddai, that we should serve him? What do we gain if we pray to him?'

16 Isn't their prosperity already theirs? The plans of the wicked are far from me.

17 "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their calamity come upon them? How often does [God] deal out pain in his anger,

18 to make them like straw in the wind, like chaff carried off by a storm?

19 God lays up for their children [the punishment for their] iniquity. He should lay it on [the wicked] themselves, so that they can feel it!

20 Let their own eyes see their own destruction and themselves drink the wrath of Shaddai.

21 What joy can they have in their family after them, given that their months are numbered?

22 "Can anyone teach God knowledge? After all, he judges those who are on high.

23 One person dies in his full strength, completely at ease and content;

24 his pails are full of milk, and the marrow in his bones is moist.

25 Another dies with embittered heart, never having tasted happiness.

26 They lie down alike in the dust, and the worm covers them both.

27 "Look, I know what you are thinking and your plans to do me wrong.

28 You ask, 'Where is the great man's house? Where is the tent where the wicked once lived?'

29 Haven't you ever questioned travelers? Don't you accept their testimony

30 that the evil man is saved on the day of disaster, rescued on the day of wrath?

31 So who will confront him with his ways? Who will repay him for what he has done?

32 For he is carried off to the grave, people keep watch over his tomb,

33 the clods of the valley are sweet to him; so everyone follows his example, just as before him were countless others.

34 "Why offer me such meaningless comfort? Of your answers, only the perfidy remains."