21:2Hear diligently my speech;
And let this be your consolations.
21:3Suffer me, and I also will speak;
And after that I have spoken, mock on.
21:4As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
21:5Mark me, and be astonished,
And lay your hand upon your mouth.
21:6Even when I remember I am troubled,
And horror taketh hold on my flesh.
21:7Wherefore do the wicked live,
Become old, yea, wax mighty in power?
21:8Their seed is established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
21:9Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.
21:10Their bull gendereth, and faileth not;
Their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
21:11They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
21:12They sing to the timbrel and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.
21:13They spend their days in prosperity,
And in a moment they go down to Sheol.
21:14And they say unto God, Depart from us;
For we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
21:16Lo, their prosperity is not in their hand:
The counsel of the wicked is far from me. \\ \\
21:17How 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?
21:18That they are as stubble before the wind,
And as chaff that the storm carrieth away?
21:19Ye say, God layeth up his iniquity for his children.
Let him recompense it unto himself, that he may know it:
21:20Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21:21For what careth he for his house after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
21:22Shall any teach God knowledge,
Seeing he judgeth those that are high?
21:23One dieth in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and quiet:
21:24His pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moistened.
21:25And another dieth in bitterness of soul,
And never tasteth of good.
21:26They lie down alike in the dust,
And the worm covereth them. \\ \\
21:27Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me.
21:28For ye say, Where is the house of the prince?
And where is the tent wherein the wicked dwelt?
21:29Have ye not asked wayfaring men?
And do ye not know their evidences,
21:30That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity?
That they are led forth to the day of wrath?
21:31Who shall declare his way to his face?
And who shall repay him what he hath done?
21:32Yet shall he be borne to the grave,
And men shall keep watch over the tomb.
21:33The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him,
And all men shall draw after him,
As there were innumerable before him.
21:34How then comfort ye me in vain,
Seeing in your answers there remaineth only falsehood?
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