2“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.
3Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.
4As for me, is my complaint [205]to a mortal? Or why should [206]I not be impatient?
5Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.
6Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.
7Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very [207]powerful?
8Their [208]descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,
9Their houses are safe from fear, And the [209]rod of God is not on them.
10His ox mates [210]without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.
12They [211]sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13They spend their days in prosperity, And [212]suddenly they go down to [213]Sheol.
14Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15[214]Who is [215]the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
16Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.
17“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does [216]God apportion destruction in His anger?
18Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?
19You say, ‘God saves up [217]a person’s [218]wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let [219]God repay him so that he may know it.
20Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of [220]the Almighty.
21For what does he care about his household [221]after him, When the number of his months is at an end?
22Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?
23One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;
24His [222]sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,
25While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even [223]tasting anything good.
26Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.
27“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.
28For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their [224]evidence?
30For the wicked person is spared [225]a day of disaster; They [226]are led away from a day of fury.
31Who [227]confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?
32When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.
33The clods of the valley will [228]gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will [229]follow after him, While countless others go before him.
34So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”