Job 21:1-34 ERV

[1] Then Job answered: [2] "Listen to what I say. Let this be your way of comforting me. [3] Be patient while I speak. Then after I have finished speaking, you may make fun of me. [4] "My complaint is not against people. There is a good reason why I am not patient. [5] Look at me and be shocked. Put your hand over your mouth, and stare at me in shock! [6] When I think about what happened to me, I feel afraid and my body shakes! [7] Why do evil people live long lives? Why do they grow old and successful? [8] They watch their children grow up and live to see their grandchildren. [9] Their homes are safe and free from fear. God does not punish them. [10] Their bulls never fail to mate. Their cows have healthy calves. [11] They send their children out to play like lambs. Their children dance around. [12] They sing and dance to the sound of harps and flutes. [13] Evil people enjoy success during their lives and then go to the grave without suffering. [14] They say to God, 'Leave us alone! We don't care what you want us to do!' [15] And they say, 'Who is God All-Powerful? We don't need to serve him! It will not help to pray to him!' [16] "Of course, evil people don't make their own success. I would never follow their advice. [17] But how often does God blow out their light? How often does trouble come to them? How often does God get angry with them and punish them? [18] Does God blow them away, as the wind blows straw or as strong winds blow the grain husks? [19] But you say, 'God is saving their punishment for their children.' No! Let God punish the evil people themselves so that they will know what they have done! [20] Let them see their own punishment. Let them feel the anger of God All-Powerful. [21] When their life is finished and they are dead, they will not care about the family they leave behind. [22] "No one can teach God anything he doesn't already know. God judges even those in high places. [23] One person dies after living a full and successful life, a life completely safe and comfortable, [24] with a body that was well fed and bones that were still strong. [25] But another person dies after a hard life that has made them bitter, never having enjoyed anything good. [26] In the end, both of these people will lie together in the dirt. The worms will cover them both. [27] "But I know what you are thinking, and I know you want to hurt me. [28] You might say, 'Show me a good man's house. Now, show me where evil people live.' [29] "Surely you have talked with travelers. Surely you will accept their stories. [30] Evil people are spared when disaster comes. They survive when God shows his anger. [31] No one criticizes them to their faces for how they lived. No one punishes them for the evil they have done. [32] When they are carried to the grave, they will have someone to watch over the place they are buried. [33] So even the soil in the valley will be pleasant for them, and thousands of people will join their funeral procession. [34] "So your empty words are no comfort to me. There is no truth at all in your answers!"