Job 21:1-34, Job 24:1-25 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

Job 21:1-34

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

Then Job answered and said,
2

“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may ^amock.

As for me, is ^amy musing ¹to man?

And ^bwhy should ²I not be impatient?

Look at me, and be appalled,

And ^aput your hand over your mouth.

Even when I remember, I am dismayed,

And ^ahorror seizes my flesh.

Why ^ado the wicked still live,

Continue on, also become very ^bpowerful?

Their ^aseed is established with them in their presence,

And their offspring before their eyes,

Their houses ^aare safe from dread,

And the rod of God is not on them.

His ox mates and does not fail;

His cow calves and does not miscarry.

They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

They lift up the tambourine and harp

And are glad at the sound of the pipe.

They ^aspend their days in prosperity,

And ¹suddenly they go down to Sheol.

They say to God, ‘^aDepart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹Who is ²the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And ^awhat would we profit if we entreat Him?’

Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The ^acounsel of the wicked is far from me.

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

Or does their ^bdisaster fall on them?

Does ¹God apportion destruction in His anger?

Are they as ^astraw before the wind,

And like ^bchaff which the storm steals away?

You say, ‘^aGod stores away ¹a man’s wickedness for his sons.’

Let ²God repay him so that he may know it.

Let his ^aown eyes see his decay,

And let him ^bdrink of the wrath of ¹the Almighty.

For what desire does he have for his household ¹after him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

Can anyone ^ateach God knowledge,

In that He ^bjudges those on high?

One ^adies in his full strength,

Being wholly carefree and at ease;

His ¹sides are filled out with fat,

And the ^amarrow of his bones is moist,

But another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even eats anything good.

Together they ^alie down in the dust,

And ^bworms cover them.

“Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you do violence against me.

For you say, ‘Where is the house of ^athe nobleman,

And where is the ^btent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

Have you not asked those who pass by along the way,

And do you not recognize their ¹witness?

That the ^awicked is reserved for the day of disaster;

They will be led forth at ^bthe day of fury.

Who will declare to his face about his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

While he is led forth to the grave,

Men will keep watch over his tomb.

The ^aclods of the valley will ¹gently cover him;

Moreover, ^ball men will draw up after him,

While countless ones go before him.

How then will you vainly ^acomfort me,

Indeed when your answers remain full of ¹falsehood?”

Job 24:1-25

Who Can Prove Me a Liar?

“^aWhy are ¹times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not behold ^bHis days?

¹Some ^amove the boundaries;

They seize and ²devour flocks.

They drive away the donkeys of the ^aorphans;

They take the ^bwidow’s ox for a pledge.

They push ^athe needy aside from the road;

The ^bafflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

Behold, as ^awild donkeys in the wilderness

They ^bgo forth seeking food earnestly in their work,

The desert becomes ¹for him a place of bread for his young ones.

They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

^aThey spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

¹Others snatch the ^aorphan from the breast,

And against the afflicted they take a pledge.

Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,

And hungry ones carry the sheaves.

Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God ^adoes not pay attention to such offense.

“¹Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to recognize its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

The murderer ^aarises at dawn;

He ^bkills the afflicted and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

The eye of the ^aadulterer keeps watch for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he ¹keeps his face hidden.

In the dark they ^adig into houses;

They ^bshut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,

For he recognizes the ^aterrors of the shadow of death.

“¹They are ²^ainsignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is ^bcursed on the earth.

They do not turn ³toward the ^cvineyards.

Drought and heat ^aseize the snow waters,

So does ^bSheol those who have sinned.

A ¹^amother will forget him;

The ^bworm feasts sweetly till he is ^cno longer remembered.

And unrighteousness will be broken ^dlike a tree.

He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth

And does no good for ^athe widow.

But He drags off the mighty by ^aHis power;

He rises, but ^bno one believes in his life.

He provides them ^awith security, and they are supported;

And His ^beyes are on their ways.

They are exalted a ^alittle while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are ^bbrought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

Now if it is not so, ^awho can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”