Job 21

vayya'an iyyov vayyomar

Job said in reply:

shimu shamoa millati utehi-zot tankhumotekhem

Listen well to what I say, And let that be your consolation.

sa'uni ve'anokhi adabber ve'akhar dabberi talig

Bear with me while I speak, And after I have spoken, you may mock.

he'anokhi le'adam sikhi ve'im-maddua lo-tiqtsar rukhi

Is my complaint directed toward a human? Why should I not lose my patience?

penu-elay vehashammu vesimu yad al-peh

Look at me and be appalled, And clap your hand to your mouth.

ve'im-zakharti venivhaleti ve'akhaz besari pallatsut

When I think of it I am terrified; My body is seized with shuddering.

maddua resha'im yikhyu atequ gam-gaveru khayil

Why do the wicked live on, Prosper and grow wealthy?

zaram nakhon lifnehem immam vetse'etsa'ehem le'enehem

Their children are with them always, And they see their children’s children.

battehem shalom mippakhad velo shevet eloah alehem

Their homes are secure, without fear; They do not feel the rod of God.

shoro ibbar velo yagil tefallet parato velo teshakkel

Their bull breeds and does not fail; Their cow calves and never miscarries;

yeshallekhu khatson avilehem veyaldehem yeraqqedun

They let their infants run loose like sheep, And their children skip about.

yisu ketof vekhinnor veyismekhu leqol ugav

They sing to the music of hand-drum and lute, And revel to the tune of the pipe;

(yvlv) [yekhallu] vattov yemehem uverega she'ol yekhattu

They spend their days in happiness, And go down to Sheol in peace.

vayyomeru la'el sur mimmennu veda'at derakhekha lo khafatsenu

They say to God, “Leave us alone, We do not want to learn Your ways;

mah-shadday ki-na'avdennu umah-nno'il ki nifga-bo

What is Shaddai that we should render service? What will we gain by offering prayer?”

hen lo veyadam tuvam atsat resha'im rakhaqah menni

Their happiness is not their own doing. (The thoughts of the wicked are beyond me!)

kammah ner-resha'im yidakh veyavo alemo edam khavalim yekhalleq be'appo

How seldom does the lamp of the wicked fail, Does the calamity they deserve befall them, Are their lots apportioned in anger!

yihyu keteven lifne-ruakh ukhemots genavattu sufah

Let them become like straw in the wind, Like chaff carried off by a storm.

eloah yitspon-levanayw ono yeshallem elayw veyeda

[You say,] “God is reserving his punishment for his children”; Let it be paid back to him that he may feel it,

yiru enav kido umekhamat shadday yishteh

Let his eyes see his ruin, And let him drink the wrath of Shaddai!

ki mah-kheftso beveto akharayw umispar khodashayw khutsatsu

For what does he care about the fate of his family, When his number of months runs out?

hale'el yelammed-da'at vehu ramim yishpot

Can God be instructed in knowledge, The One who judges from such heights?

zeh yamut be'etsem tummo kullo shalanan veshalev

This one dies in robust health, All tranquil and untroubled,

atinayw male'u khalav umoakh atsmotayw yeshuqqeh

With the pails full of milk, The bones’ marrow juicy.

vezeh yamut benefesh marah velo-akhal battovah

While that one dies embittered, Never having tasted happiness.

yakhad al-afar yishkavu verimmah tekhasseh alehem

They both lie in the dust And are covered with worms.

hen yadati makhshevotekhem umezimmot alay takhmosu

Oh, I know your thoughts, And the tactics you will devise against me.

ki tomeru ayyeh vet-nadiv ve'ayyeh ohel mishkenot resha'im

You will say, “Where is the house of the noble— And where the tent in which the wicked dwelled?”

halo she'eltem overe darekh ve'ototam lo tenakkeru

You must have consulted the wayfarers; You cannot deny their evidence.

ki leyom ed yekhasekh ra leyom avarot yuvalu

For the evildoer is spared on the day of calamity, On the day when wrath is led forth.

mi-yaggid al-panayw darko vehu-asah mi yeshallem-lo

Who will upbraid him to his face? Who will requite him for what he has done?

vehu liqvarot yuval ve'al-gadish yishqod

He is brought to the grave, While a watch is kept at his tomb.

matequ-lo rigve-nakhal ve'akharayw kol-adam yimshokh ulefanayw en mispar

The clods of the wadi are sweet to him, Everyone follows behind him, Innumerable are those who precede him.

ve'ekh tenakhamuni havel uteshuvotekhem nishar-ma'al

Why then do you offer me empty consolation? Of your replies only the perfidy remains.