| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1But Job answered and said, | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. | 2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer. |
| 3Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on. | 3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking. |
| 4As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled? | 4As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn't I be impatient? |
| 5Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. | 5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth. |
| 6Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh. | 6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror. |
| 7Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? | 7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? |
| 8Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. | 8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes. |
| 9Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. | 9Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. |
| 10Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. | 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. |
| 11They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. | 11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about, |
| 12They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. | 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. |
| 13They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. | 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. |
| 14Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. | 14Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone! We don't want to know Your ways. |
| 15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? | 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?" |
| 16Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me. | 16But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! |
| 17How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. | 17How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does He apportion destruction in His anger? |
| 18They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. | 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away? |
| 19God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. | 19God reserves a person's punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it. |
| 20His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. | 20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath! |
| 21For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst? | 21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out? |
| 22Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high. | 22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges the exalted ones? |
| 23One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. | 23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease. |
| 24His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow. | 24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow. |
| 25And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure. | 25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity. |
| 26They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. | 26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them. |
| 27Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me. | 27I know your thoughts very well, the schemes you would wrong me with. |
| 28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked? | 28For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?" |
| 29Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens, | 29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports? |
| 30That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. | 30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath. |
| 31Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done? | 31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done? |
| 32Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. | 32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb. |
| 33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. | 33The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number. |
| 34How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood? | 34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive. |
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