Job 21:7-21

Job 21:4-21 The Message (MSG)

“It’s not you I’m complaining to—it’s God. Is it any wonder I’m getting fed up with his silence? Take a good look at me. Aren’t you appalled by what’s happened? No! Don’t say anything. I can do without your comments. When I look back, I go into shock, my body is racked with spasms. Why do the wicked have it so good, live to a ripe old age and get rich? They get to see their children succeed, get to watch and enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are peaceful and free from fear; they never experience God’s disciplining rod. Their bulls breed with great vigor and their cows calve without fail. They send their children out to play and watch them frolic like spring lambs. They make music with fiddles and flutes, have good times singing and dancing. They have a long life on easy street, and die painlessly in their sleep. They say to God, ‘Get lost! We’ve no interest in you or your ways. Why should we have dealings with God Almighty? What’s there in it for us?’ But they’re wrong, dead wrong—they’re not gods. It’s beyond me how they can carry on like this! “Still, how often does it happen that the wicked fail, or disaster strikes, or they get their just deserts? How often are they blown away by bad luck? Not very often. You might say, ‘God is saving up the punishment for their children.’ I say, ‘Give it to them right now so they’ll know what they’ve done!’ They deserve to experience the effects of their evil, feel the full force of God’s wrath firsthand. What do they care what happens to their families after they’re safely tucked away in the grave?

Job 21:7-21 King James Version (KJV)

Wherefore do the wicked live, Become old, yea, are mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight with them, And their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. They take the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the organ. They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Lo, their good is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me. How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! And how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: He rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, And he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off in the midst?

Job 21:7-21 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Why do the wicked still live, Continue on, also become very powerful? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes, Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them. His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort. They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about. They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute. They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol. They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’ Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me. “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their calamity fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger? Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it. Let his own eyes see his decay, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care for his household after him, When the number of his months is cut off?

Job 21:7-21 New Century Version (NCV)

Why do evil people live a long time? They grow old and become more powerful. They see their children around them; they watch them grow up. Their homes are safe and without fear; God does not punish them. Their bulls never fail to mate; their cows have healthy calves. They send out their children like a flock; their little ones dance about. They sing to the music of tambourines and harps, and the sound of the flute makes them happy. Evil people enjoy successful lives and then go peacefully to the grave. They say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We don’t want to know your ways. Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ The success of the wicked is not their own doing. Their way of thinking is different from mine. Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off? How often does trouble come to them? How often do they suffer God’s angry punishment? How often are they like straw in the wind or like chaff that is blown away by a storm? It is said, ‘God saves up a person’s punishment for his children.’ But God should punish the wicked themselves so they will know it. Their eyes should see their own destruction, and they should suffer the anger of the Almighty. They do not care about the families they leave behind when their lives have come to an end.

Job 21:7-21 American Standard Version (ASV)

Wherefore do the wicked live, Become old, yea, wax mighty in power? Their seed is established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment they go down to Sheol. And they say unto God, Depart from us; For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand: The counsel of the wicked is far from me. How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity cometh upon them? That God distributeth sorrows in his anger? That they are as stubble before the wind, And as chaff that the storm carrieth away? Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children. Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it: Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what careth he for his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off?

Job 21:7-21 New International Version (NIV)

Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power? They see their children established around them, their offspring before their eyes. Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not on them. Their bulls never fail to breed; their cows calve and do not miscarry. They send forth their children as a flock; their little ones dance about. They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre; they make merry to the sound of the pipe. They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace. Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?’ But their prosperity is not in their own hands, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out? How often does calamity come upon them, the fate God allots in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a gale? It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’ Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it! Let their own eyes see their destruction; let them drink the cup of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care about the families they leave behind when their allotted months come to an end?

Job 21:7-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them. Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage. They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and harp, And rejoice to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave. Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’ Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me. “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? They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away. They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it. Let his eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half?

Job 21:7-21 Amplified Bible (AMP)

“Why do the wicked still live, Become old, and become mighty in power? “Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes. “Their houses are safe from fear; And the rod of God is not on them. “His bull breeds and does not fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry. “They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children skip about. “They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre And rejoice to the sound of the flute. “They fully enjoy their days in prosperity, And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment. “Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. ‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’ [Ex 5:2] “But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power); The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension. ¶“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, And that their disaster falls on them? Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger? [Luke 12:46] “Are they like straw before the wind, And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away? “You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’ Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it. “Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. “For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead, When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

Job 21:7-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

“Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? They live to see their children grow up and settle down, and they enjoy their grandchildren. Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them. Their bulls never fail to breed. Their cows bear calves and never miscarry. They let their children frisk about like lambs. Their little ones skip and dance. They sing with tambourine and harp. They celebrate to the sound of the flute. They spend their days in prosperity, then go down to the grave in peace. And yet they say to God, ‘Go away. We want no part of you and your ways. Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him? What good will it do us to pray?’ (They think their prosperity is of their own doing, but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.) “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished. Do they ever have trouble? Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger? Are they driven before the wind like straw? Are they carried away by the storm like chaff? Not at all! “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say he should punish the ones who sin, so that they understand his judgment. Let them see their destruction with their own eyes. Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty. For they will not care what happens to their family after they are dead.

Job 21:7-21 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power? Their offspring are established in their presence, and their descendants before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, and no rod of God is upon them. Their bull breeds without fail; their cow calves and does not miscarry. They send out their little boys like a flock, and their children dance. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of the wicked is far from me. “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out? That their calamity comes upon them? That God distributes pains in his anger? That they are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their houses after them, when the number of their months is cut off?