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Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

¹ Then Job responded,

² "Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.

³ "Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may ^(C1)mock me.

⁴ "As for me, is ^(C1)my complaint ^(F1)to a mortal?
Or ^(C2)why should ^(F2)I not be impatient?

⁵ "Look at me, and be astonished,
And ^(C1)put your hand over your mouth.

⁶ "Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And ^(C1)horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷ "Why ^(C1)do the wicked still live,
Grow old, and also become very ^(F1)(C2)powerful?

⁸ "Their ^(F1)(C1)descendants endure with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹ Their houses ^(C1)are safe from fear,
And the ^(F1)rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰ "His ox mates ^(F1)without fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹ "They send out their boys like the flock,
And their children dance.

¹² "They ^(F1)sing with the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³ "They ^(C1)spend their days in prosperity,
And ^(F1)suddenly they go down to ^(F2)Sheol.

¹⁴ "Yet they say to God, '^(C1)Go away from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵ '^(F1)Who is ^(F2)the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And ^(C1)what would we gain if we plead with Him?'

¹⁶ "Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The ^(C1)advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ "How often is ^(C1)the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their ^(C2)disaster fall on them?
Does ^(F1)God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸ "Are they as ^(C1)straw before the wind,
And like ^(C2)chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹ "You say, '^(C1)God saves up ^(F1)a person's ^(F2)wrongdoing for his sons.'
Let ^(F3)God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰ "Let his ^(C1)own eyes see his destruction,
And let him ^(C2)drink of the wrath of ^(F1)the Almighty.

²¹ "For what does he care about his household ^(F1)after him,
When the number of his months is at an end?

²² "Can anyone ^(C1)teach God knowledge,
In that He ^(C2)judges those on high?

²³ "One ^(C1)dies in his full strength,
Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴ His ^(F1)sides are filled with fat,
And the ^(C1)marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵ While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even ^(F1)tasting anything good.

²⁶ "Together they ^(C1)lie down in the dust,
And ^(C2)maggots cover them.

²⁷ "Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸ "For you say, 'Where is the house of ^(C1)the nobleman,
And where is the ^(C2)tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?'

²⁹ "Have you not asked travelers,
And do you not examine their ^(F1)evidence?

³⁰ "For the ^(C1)wicked person is spared ^(F1)a day of disaster;
They ^(F2)are led away from ^(C2)a day of fury.

³¹ "Who ^(F1)confronts him with his actions,
And who repays him for what he has done?

³² "When he is carried to the grave,
People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³ "The ^(C1)clods of the valley will ^(F1)gently cover him;
Moreover, ^(C2)all mankind will ^(F2)follow after him,
While countless others go before him.

³⁴ "So how dare you give me empty ^(C1)comfort?
For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!"