21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction; 1
let him drink of the anger of the Almighty.
21:21 For what is his interest 2 in his home
after his death, 3
when the number of his months
has been broken off? 4
21:22 Can anyone teach 5 God knowledge,
since 6 he judges those that are on high? 7
21:23 “One man dies in his full vigor, 8
completely secure and prosperous,
21:24 his body 9 well nourished, 10
and the marrow of his bones moist. 11
21:25 And another man 12 dies in bitterness of soul, 13
never having tasted 14 anything good.
21:26 Together they lie down in the dust,
and worms cover over them both.
21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking, 15
the schemes 16 by which you would wrong me. 17
21:28 For you say,
‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, 18
and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’ 19
21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?
Do you not recognize their accounts 20 –
21:30 that the evil man is spared
from the day of his misfortune,
that he is delivered 21
from the day of God’s wrath?
21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;
no one repays him for what 22 he has done. 23
21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,
and watch is kept 24 over the funeral mound, 25
21:33 The clods of the torrent valley 26 are sweet to him;
behind him everybody follows in procession,
and before him goes a countless throng.
21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?
Nothing is left of your answers but deception!” 27