FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation Job 21:3
KJVSuffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
Read it in context
Job: God Will Punish the Wicked
Start reading at Job 21:1 (Job 21:1 to Job 21:34).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
The argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
- 21:1 But Job answered and said,
- 21:2 Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations.
- 21:3 Suffer me that I may speak; and after that I have spoken, mock on.
- 21:4 As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
- 21:5 Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.
- 21:6 Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh.
- 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?
- 21:8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.
- 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.
- 21:10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf.
- 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.
- 21:12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
- 21:13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
- 21:14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
- 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
- 21:16 Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
- 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
- 21:18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.
- 21:19 God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.
- 21:20 His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
- 21:21 For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
- 21:22 Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are high.
- 21:23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.
- 21:24 His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.
- 21:25 And another dieth in the bitterness of his soul, and never eateth with pleasure.
- 21:26 They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.
- 21:27 Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against me.
- 21:28 For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?
- 21:29 Have ye not asked them that go by the way? and do ye not know their tokens,
- 21:30 That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.
- 21:31 Who shall declare his way to his face? and who shall repay him what he hath done?
- 21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
- 21:33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.
- 21:34 How then comfort ye me in vain, seeing in your answers there remaineth falsehood?
Who
- Who wrote the book? The author is unknown. Moses is one ancient traditional proposal, but neither that proposal nor another named author can be established with confidence. Historical source: Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b–15a (record of Jewish attribution, not contemporary proof). book background
- Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Job 21:1–21:34): Job asks his friends to hear his answer concerning the prosperity of the wicked. stated in the text
- Who was the book written to? Readers within Israel's wisdom tradition, wrestling with innocent suffering, justice, and the limits of human judgment. No named individual or first community is identified. Biblical references: Job 28:28; Job 42:7. book background
What
- What is the topic of this reading unit? Job: God Will Punish the Wicked. Read Job 21:1 through Job 21:34 as a connected unit. interpretation
- How does it contribute to the book? The argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes. interpretation
When
- When are the events or message set? The book supplies no royal date or exact historical year for Job's experiences. Proposed patriarchal-era settings are historical inferences, not a date explicitly stated by the narrative. book background
Where
- What is the book’s geographic setting? Job is introduced as a man in the land of Uz. The poetic speeches range through imagined and remembered scenes that should not all be treated as the speakers' physical locations. book background
- Where does the context start? This passage sits in Job: God Will Punish the Wicked (Job 21:1 to Job 21:34). Start reading at Job 21:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
- How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? James refers to Job's endurance and the Lord's compassion. Connections between Job's suffering and Christ may be considered as comparisons; Job's speeches should not all be treated as direct predictions of Jesus. See Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15. interpretation
- How should this book guide our response? Do not assume that a sufferer's losses prove a hidden sin. Listen carefully, distinguish the speakers, and read their claims alongside the LORD's concluding rebuke of the friends. interpretation
Cited: Job 21:1, Job 21:34, Job 1:1, James 5:11, Hebrews 4:15
Who wrote it, and how we know
Uncertain; among the oldest books of Scripture
Not known
What Scripture saysThe book does not name its author.
Early traditionJewish tradition (Baba Bathra 14b) suggested Moses, but ancient opinion varied widely.
What is debatedThe author is unknown and the date is uncertain. The setting appears patriarchal, but the book could have been written far later.
Related passages
- that I may Job 13:13 Job 33:31-33
- mock on Job 12:4-5 Job 13:9 Job 16:10,20 Job 17:2
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Job 21
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Job
Job contains narrative, lament, and extended disputation. The speakers must be identified before treating an assertion as the book's teaching: the LORD explicitly rebukes Job's friends near the end. Neither the author nor an exact historical date is stated.
Job's losses and the friends' arrival
Job 1:1–2:13FocusSuffering and the opening test
Connection to the wholeThe narrative establishes Job's losses and integrity before the speeches begin, giving readers information the disputing friends do not possess.
interpretation The lament and first exchange
Job 3:1–14:22FocusSuffering questioned and explained
Connection to the wholeJob's lament leads into the first cycle of speeches, in which the friends' explanations are challenged by Job's experience.
interpretation FocusAccusation and protest intensify
Connection to the wholeThe argument sharpens as the friends connect suffering with wickedness and Job challenges their account of the wicked's fortunes.
interpretation The final exchange and Job's defense
Job 22:1–31:40FocusWisdom and the demand for an answer
Connection to the wholeThe later speeches, poem on wisdom, and Job's final defense bring the dispute to the point of his appeal for an answer.
interpretation Elihu speaks
Job 32:1–37:24FocusClaims about God's justice and instruction
Connection to the wholeA new speaker responds to Job and the friends before the LORD's speeches begin; his speech must be distinguished from the divine answer.
interpretation The LORD answers
Job 38:1–41:34FocusCreation and the limits of human knowledge
Connection to the wholeThe LORD questions Job concerning the created order, confronting the limits of his knowledge and his attempt to contend with God.
interpretation Job's response and the conclusion
Job 42:1–17FocusRepentance, rebuke, and restoration
Connection to the wholeJob responds, the friends are rebuked, and the narrative closes with intercession and restoration without turning every speech into endorsed doctrine.
interpretation Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.