| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Job answered: | 1Then Job answered: |
| 2"Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you offer me. | 2Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer. |
| 3Bear with me and I will speak, and after I have spoken you may mock. | 3Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking. |
| 4Is my complaint against a man? If so, 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 hands over your mouths. | 5Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth. |
| 6For, when I think about this, I am terrified and my body feels a shudder. | 6When I think about it, I am terrified and my body trembles in horror. |
| 7"Why do the wicked go on living, grow old, even increase in power? | 7Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? |
| 8Their children are firmly established in their presence, their offspring before their eyes. | 8Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes. |
| 9Their houses are safe and without fear; and 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 calve and do not miscarry. | 10Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry. |
| 11They allow their children to run like a flock; their little ones dance about. | 11They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about, |
| 12They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute. | 12singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute. |
| 13They live out their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. | 13They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace. |
| 14So they say to God, 'Turn away from us! We do not want 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? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?' | 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?" |
| 16But their prosperity is not their own doing. 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! |
| 17"How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them 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? |
| 18How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind? | 18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away? |
| 19You may say, 'God stores up a man's punishment for his children!' Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may 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 own eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the anger of the Almighty. | 20Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath! |
| 21For what is his interest in his home after his death, when the number of his months has been broken off? | 21For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out? |
| 22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high? | 22Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges the exalted ones? |
| 23"One man dies in his full vigor, completely secure and prosperous, | 23One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease. |
| 24his body well nourished, and the marrow of his bones moist. | 24His body is well fed, and his bones are full of marrow. |
| 25And another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted anything good. | 25Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity. |
| 26Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover over them both. | 26But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them. |
| 27"Yes, I know what you are thinking, 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 lived?' | 28For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?" |
| 29Have you never questioned those who travel the roads? Do you not recognize their accounts-- | 29Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports? |
| 30that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God's wrath? | 30Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath. |
| 31No one denounces his conduct to his face; no one repays him for what he has done. | 31Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done? |
| 32And when he is carried to the tombs, and watch is kept over the funeral mound, | 32He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over his tomb. |
| 33The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him; behind him everybody follows in procession, and before him goes a countless throng. | 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 console me with your futile words? Nothing is left of your answers but deception!" | 34So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive. |
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