1. Then Job answered,
2. "Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.
3. "Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
4. "As for me, is my complaint to man? And why should I not be impatient?
5. "Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.
6. "Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.
7. "Why do the wicked still live, Continue on, also become very powerful?
8. "Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,
9. Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.
10. "His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort.
11. "They send forth their little ones like the flock, And their children skip about.
12. "They sing to the timbrel and harp And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13. "They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
14. "They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15. 'Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we entreat Him?'