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Job 21

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

Then Job answered and said,
2
“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
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Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
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As for me, is my musing to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
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Look at me, and be appalled,
And put your hand over your mouth.
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Even when I remember, I am dismayed,
And horror seizes my flesh.
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Why do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very powerful?
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Their seed is established with them in their presence,
And their offspring before their eyes,
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Their houses are safe from dread,
And the rod of God is not on them.
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His ox mates and does not fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
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They send forth their little ones like the flock,
And their children skip about.
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They lift up the tambourine and harp
And are glad at the sound of the pipe.
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They spend their days in prosperity,
And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
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They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
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Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we profit if we entreat Him?’
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Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

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“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their disaster fall on them?
Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
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Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm steals away?
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You say, ‘God stores away a man’s wickedness for his sons.’
Let God repay him so that he may know it.
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Let his own eyes see his decay,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
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For what desire does he have for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
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Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?
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One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly carefree and at ease;
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His sides are filled out with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
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But another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even eats anything good.
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Together they lie down in the dust,
And worms cover them.

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“Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you do violence against me.
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For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,
And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
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Have you not asked those who pass by along the way,
And do you not recognize their witness?
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That the wicked is reserved for the day of disaster;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.
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Who will declare to his face about his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
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While he is led forth to the grave,
Men will keep watch over his tomb.
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The clods of the valley will gently cover him;
Moreover, all men will draw up after him,
While countless ones go before him.
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How then will you vainly comfort me,
Indeed when your answers remain full of falsehood?”