| | 1 | Then Job answered and said: | |
| | 2 | "Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your consolation. | |
| | 3 | Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking. | |
| | 4 | "As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient? | |
| | 5 | Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth. | |
| | 6 | Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh. | |
| | 7 | Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? | |
| | 8 | Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. | |
| | 9 | Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. | |
| | 10 | Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage. | |
| | 11 | They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. | |
| | 12 | They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. | |
| | 13 | They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. | |
| | 14 | Yet they say to God, 'Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. | |
| | 15 | Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?' | |
| | 16 | Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me. | |
| | 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? | |
| | 18 | They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away. | |
| | 19 | They say, 'God lays up one's iniquity for his children'; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. | |
| | 20 | Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. | |
| | 21 | For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half? | |
| | 22 | "Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high? | |
| | 23 | One dies in his full strength, Being wholly at ease and secure; | |
| | 24 | His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist. | |
| | 25 | Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure. | |
| | 26 | They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them. | |
| | 27 | "Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me. | |
| | 28 | For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?' | |
| | 29 | Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs? | |
| | 30 | For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath. | |
| | 31 | Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done? | |
| | 32 | Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb. | |
| | 33 | The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him. | |
| | 34 | How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?" | |
