| Berean Study Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Job answered: | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2“Listen carefully to my words; let this be your consolation to me. | 2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer. |
| 3Bear with me while I speak; then, after I have spoken, you may go on mocking. | 3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking. |
| 4Is my complaint against a man? Then why should I not be impatient? | 4As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn't I be impatient? |
| 5Look at me and be appalled; put your hand over your mouth. | 5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth. |
| 6When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror. | 6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror. |
| 7Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? | 7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? |
| 8Their descendants are established around them, and their offspring before their eyes. | 8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes. |
| 9Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them. | 9Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. |
| 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry. | 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. |
| 11They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, | 11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about, |
| 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute. | 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. |
| 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. | 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. |
| 14Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. | 14Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone! We don't want to know Your ways. |
| 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’ | 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?" |
| 16Still, their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. | 16But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! |
| 17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come upon them? Does God, in His anger, apportion destruction? | 17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does He apportion destruction in His anger? |
| 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm? | 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away? |
| 19It is said that God lays up one’s punishment for his children. Let God repay the man himself, so he will know it. | 19God reserves a person's punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it. |
| 20Let his eyes see his own destruction; let him drink for himself the wrath of the Almighty. | 20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath! |
| 21For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out? | 21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out? |
| 22Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high? | 22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges the exalted ones? |
| 23One man dies full of vigor, completely secure and at ease. | 23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease. |
| 24His body is well nourished, and his bones are rich with marrow. | 24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow. |
| 25Yet another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, having never tasted prosperity. | 25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity. |
| 26But together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them both. | 26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them. |
| 27Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me. | 27I know your thoughts very well, the schemes you would wrong me with. |
| 28For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked dwell?’ | 28For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?" |
| 29Have you never asked those who travel the roads? Do you not accept their reports? | 29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports? |
| 30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of calamity, delivered from the day of wrath. | 30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath. |
| 31Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done? | 31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done? |
| 32He is carried to the grave, and watch is kept over his tomb. | 32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb. |
| 33The clods of the valley are sweet to him; everyone follows behind him, and those before him are without number. | 33The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number. |
| 34So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.” | 34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive. |
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