Job 21:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Job 21:1

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Job’s Discourse on the Wicked

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your¹ consolation.

3 Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep ^amocking.

4 “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me and be astonished;
^aPut your hand over your mouth.

6 Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.

7 ^aWhy do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?

8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are safe from fear,
^aNeither is¹ the rod of God upon them.

10 Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves ^awithout miscarriage.

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.

12 They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

13 They ^aspend their days in wealth,
And¹ in a moment go down to the grave.

14 ^aYet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 ^aWho is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And ^bwhat profit do we have if we pray to Him?’

16 Indeed¹ their prosperity is not in their hand;
^aThe counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God ^adistributes in His anger?

18 ^aThey are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm¹ carries away.

19 They say, ‘God¹ lays up one’s iniquity ^afor his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.

20 Let his eyes see his destruction,
And ^alet him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?

22 “Can^a anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?

23 One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;

24 His¹ pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.

25 Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.

26 They ^alie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.

27 “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.

28 For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is¹ the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’

29 Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?

30 ^aFor the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

31 Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?

32 Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.

33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
^aEveryone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.

34 How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since¹ falsehood remains in your answers?”

Verse Comparison: Job 21:1

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Job 21:2 >>

American Standard Version
Then Job answered and said,

Amplified® Bible
THEN JOB answered,

Contemporary English Version
Job said:

Darby English Version
And Job answered and said,

Good News Bible
Listen to what I am saying; that is all the comfort I ask from you.

King James Version
But Job answered and said,

New American Standard Bible
Then Job answered,

New International Version
Then Job replied:

New King James Version
Then Job answered and said:

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Then Job answered,

Revised Standard Version
Then Job answered:

Young's Literal Translation
And Job answereth and saith: --

New English Translation
Then Job answered:

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