Job 21 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Then Job answered:

² “Listen to what I say.\par Let that be your way of comforting me.\par

³ Be patient while I speak.\par Then after I have finished speaking,\par you may make fun of me.\par

⁴ “I am not complaining against people.\par There is a good reason\par why I am not patient.\par

⁵ Look at me and be shocked.\par Put your hand over your mouth,\par and stare at me in shock!\par

⁶ When I think about what happened to me\par I feel afraid, and my body shakes!\par

⁷ Why do evil people live long lives?\par Why do they grow old and successful?\par

⁸ Evil people watch their children\par grow with them.\par Evil people live to see their grandchildren.\par

⁹ Their homes are safe\par and they are not afraid.\par God doesn’t use a stick\par to punish evil people.\par

¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to mate.\par Their cows have baby calves,\par and the baby calves don’t die at birth.\par

¹¹ Evil people send their children out\par to play like lambs.\par Their children dance around.\par

¹² They sing and dance\par to the sound of harps and flutes.\par

¹³ Evil people enjoy success\par during their lives.\par Then they die\par and go to their grave without suffering.\par

¹⁴ But evil people say to God,\par ‘Leave us alone!\par We don’t care what you want us to do!’\par

¹⁵ And the evil people say,\par ‘Who is God All-Powerful?\par We don’t need to serve him!\par It won’t help to pray to him!’\par

¹⁶ “It is true, evil people don’t make\par their own success.\par I can’t follow their advice.\par

¹⁷ But, how often does God blow out\par the light of evil people?\par How often does trouble come\par to the evil people?\par When does God become angry at them\par and punish them?\par

¹⁸ Does God blow the evil people away,\par like the wind blows straw,\par like strong winds blow the grain husks?\par

¹⁹ But you say,\par ‘God punishes a child\par for his father’s sins.’\par No! Let God punish the evil person himself.\par Then that evil person will know\par he is being punished for his own sins!\par

²⁰ Let the sinner see his own punishment.\par Let him feel the anger\par of God All-Powerful.\par

²¹ When the evil person’s life is finished,\par and he is dead,\par he won’t care about the family\par he leaves behind.\par

²² “No person can teach knowledge to God.\par God judges even people in high places.\par

²³ One person dies after a full\par and successful life.\par He lived a life completely safe\par and comfortable.\par

²⁴ His body was well fed\par and his bones were still strong.\par

²⁵ But another person dies\par after a hard life, with a bitter soul.\par He never enjoyed anything good.\par

²⁶ In the end, both of those people\par will lie together in the dirt.\par The worms will cover them both.\par

²⁷ “But, I know what you are thinking,\par and I know you want to hurt me.\par

²⁸ You might say:\par ‘Show me a good man’s house.\par Now, show me where evil people live.’\par

²⁹ “Surely you have talked with travelers.\par Surely you will accept their stories.\par

³⁰ Evil people are spared\par when disaster comes.\par They survive when God shows his anger.\par

³¹ Nobody criticizes an evil person\par to his face for the bad things he did.\par No person punishes him for the evil he did.\par

³² When that evil person is carried to the grave,\par a guard will stand near his grave.\par

³³ So even the soil in the valley\par will be pleasant for that evil person.\par And thousands of people will join\par the march to his grave.\par

³⁴ “So you can’t comfort me\par with your empty words.\par Your answers don’t help at all!”\par