New King James Version | New International Version |
1Then Job answered and said: | 1Then Job replied: |
2“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your consolation. | 2"Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you give me. |
3Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking. | 3Bear with me while I speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. |
4“As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? | 4"Is my complaint directed to a human being? Why should I not be impatient? |
5Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth. | 5Look at me and be appalled; clap your hand over your mouth. |
6Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh. | 6When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body. |
7Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? | 7Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? |
8Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. | 8They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. |
9Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. | 9Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them. |
10Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage. | 10Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry. |
11They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. | 11They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about. |
12They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. | 12They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe. |
13They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. | 13They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. |
14Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. | 14Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. |
15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ | 15Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?' |
16Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me. | 16But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. |
17“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger? | 17"Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? |
18They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away. | 18How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? |
19They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. | 19It is said, 'God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.' Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it! |
20Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. | 20Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty. |
21For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half? | 21For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end? |
22“Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high? | 22"Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since he judges even the highest? |
23One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and secure; | 23One person dies in full vigor, completely secure and at ease, |
24His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist. | 24well nourished in body, bones rich with marrow. |
25Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure. | 25Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having enjoyed anything good. |
26They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them. | 26Side by side they lie in the dust, and worms cover them both. |
27“Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me. | 27"I know full well what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me. |
28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?’ | 28You say, 'Where now is the house of the great, the tents where the wicked lived?' |
29Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs? | 29Have you never questioned those who travel? Have you paid no regard to their accounts-- |
30For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. | 30that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity, that they are delivered from the day of wrath? |
31Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? | 31Who denounces their conduct to their face? Who repays them for what they have done? |
32Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb. | 32They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs. |
33The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him. | 33The soil in the valley is sweet to them; everyone follows after them, and a countless throng goes before them. |
34How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?” | 34"So how can you console me with your nonsense? Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!" |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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