Parallel Bible results for "job 21"

Job 21

New Living Translation NLT

1 Then Job spoke again:

2 “Listen closely to what I am saying. That’s one consolation you can give me.

3 Bear with me, and let me speak. After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.

4 “My complaint is with God, not with people. I have good reason to be so impatient.

5 Look at me and be stunned. Put your hand over your mouth in shock.

6 When I think about what I am saying, I shudder. My body trembles.

7 “Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful?

8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren.

9 Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

11 They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance.

12 They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

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

14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’

16 (They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

17 “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?

18 Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all!

19 “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say he should punish the ones who sin, so that they understand his judgment.

20 Let them see their destruction with their own eyes. Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.

21 For they will not care what happens to their family after they are dead.

22 “But who can teach a lesson to God, since he judges even the most powerful?

23 One person dies in prosperity, completely comfortable and secure,

24 the picture of good health, vigorous and fit.

25 Another person dies in bitter poverty, never having tasted the good life.

26 But both are buried in the same dust, both eaten by the same maggots.

27 “Look, I know what you’re thinking. I know the schemes you plot against me.

28 You will tell me of rich and wicked people whose houses have vanished because of their sins.

29 But ask those who have been around, and they will tell you the truth.

30 Evil people are spared in times of calamity and are allowed to escape disaster.

31 No one criticizes them openly or pays them back for what they have done.

32 When they are carried to the grave, an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.

33 A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery. Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest, and the earth gives sweet repose.

34 “How can your empty clichés comfort me? All your explanations are 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!”