Глава 21

Job's response to Zophar's speech in the second conversation. 1–6. Job's demand for careful attention to his speeches. 7–34. A description of the prosperity of sinners with a refutation of possible objections from friends. Job 21:1. And Job answered and said: Job 21:2. listen carefully to my speech, and this will be my consolation from you. The attentive attitude of his friends to Job’s speeches is an indicator that they attach a certain meaning to them and do not consider them empty words thrown to the wind. This will bring comfort to the sufferer, grieving from the contradictions of friends and ridicule of him (Job 17.2). Job 21:3. Bear with me and I will speak; and after I have spoken, mock me. Perhaps even Zophar, having listened carefully to Job’s speech, will stop his ridicule: “after I have spoken, mock.” Job 21:4. Is my speech to a person? How can I not be cowardly? Friends interfere in Job’s speeches, interrupt them and object, among other things, because they consider it inappropriate for him to show cowardice, irritability, and passion that turns into grumbling (Job 4.3–5, 8.2). In reality, such a mood is quite natural. Those who suffer usually seek sympathy from the people around them. But Job’s speech, or rather, complaint (Hebrew “sichi” cf. Job 7.13, 9.27, 10.1) is not addressed to people - friends, he does not expect help from them ( Job 13.2), but to God ( Job 13.3, 16.20). And since He, from whom the sufferer expects a solution to the question of the cause of disasters, does not heed his cries (Job 9.32; Job 19.7), then how can he not fall into despondency? Job 21:5. Look at me and be horrified, and put your finger on your lips. Instead of reproaching Job for cowardice, friends are obliged to “put a finger on their lips,” that is, to remain silent (Job 29.9, 39.34; Proverbs 30.32; Wisdom 8.12; Sir 5.14). This should be prompted by the feeling of horror that is caused by the very sight of the sufferer. Job 21:6–13. And now, as before, Job’s speech will be full of impatience and excitement. Still, it should be listened to carefully. Job’s excitement is understandable: it is caused by the fact of the prosperity of sinners, insoluble for the human mind and confusing the righteous (Ps 72.2-3, 12-4; Jer 12.1 etc.). Job 21:7. Why do the lawless live, reach old age, and are strong in strength? Contrary to the assurance of Zophar (Job 20.5), it manifests itself primarily in longevity and strength of strength (cf. Ps 72.4), which is the lot of the righteous (Job 5.26). Job 21:8. Their children are with them before their faces, and their grandchildren are before their eyes. In addition, the wicked have the happiness of seeing themselves, like the righteous (Ps 127.3, 127.3–5, 143.12; cf. Job 18.19), surrounded by a large family. In their generation there is no great mortality (“their children and grandchildren are before them”, cf. Job 5.25), and therefore there are no reasons for sadness. Job 21:9. Their houses are safe from fear, and there is no rod of God upon them. And in general, the “houses” of the wicked - families, including wives, children and servants (Gen. 7.1, 21.17, 50.7), do not experience fear, as is typical for the pious (Job 5.24), - are not subject to the blows of divine wrath (cf. Ps. 72.5). Job 21:10. The ox fertilizes them and does not throw them out, the cow conceives them and does not throw them out. The happiness of sinners is also reflected in the successful management of the household - in the reproduction of herds (Ps 143.13), due to the absence of cases of accidental births among domestic animals (Gen 31.38). Job 21:11. Like a herd, they release their little ones, and their children jump. Job 21:12. They exclaim to the voice of the tympanum and zither and rejoice at the sound of the pipe; Enjoying success in everything, the wicked lead a cheerful, carefree life. Their children amuse themselves with appropriate games, and their elders delight their ears by singing and playing musical instruments (Is 5.12, 42.11). Job 21:13. spend their days in happiness and instantly descend into the underworld. A happy life ends with an easy death: instantly, without illness, sinners go to Sheol (cf. Job 18.13). Job 21:14. And yet they say to God: get away from us, we do not want to know Your ways! Job 21:15. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what is the use of resorting to Him? Job 21:16. You see, their happiness is not in their own hands. - The advice of the wicked be far from me! By their behavior, sinners do not deserve happiness (“their happiness is not from their own hands” v. 16), since they consciously (“we do not want... to know”) they reject God, the way of life He showed to man (“the way”, cf. Isa. 58.2), and consider serving Him useless (v. 15; cf. Mal 3.14). And if it is given to them, then, obviously, contrary to the theory of friends about earthly reward. It is completely refuted by the fact of the prosperity of the wicked. Happiness is easy for sinners, serving God is difficult, and yet Job would not want to be in their place: “the advice of the wicked be far from me” (cf. Job 17.9). Job 21:17. How often does the lamp of the wicked go out, and trouble comes upon them, and He gives them the suffering of His wrath? Job 21:18. They should be like straw before the wind and like chaff carried away by a whirlwind. The theory of earthly rewards denied by Job cannot be proven by cases of disasters for sinners. As the interrogative form of speech shows ("how often?" Hebrew "kamma", cf. Job 7.19, 13.23), they constitute, in his opinion, isolated, rare phenomena. The lamp of the wicked rarely goes out (Job 18.5–6); trouble finds (Job 18.12), and the lot of suffering appointed by God befalls. Rarely are they subjected to sudden death (v. 18; cf. Ps 1.4, 17.13, 72.14; Isa 40.24, 41.2, 47.14). Job 21:19. You will say: God is saving his misfortune for his children. - Let Him reward him himself, so that he knows it. Job 21:20. Let his eyes see his misfortune, and let him himself drink from the wrath of the Almighty. Job 21:21. For what concern does he have for his house after him, when the number of his months is ended? Job’s view cannot be refuted by the position of friends that sinners are punished in the person of their children (Job 5.4, 20.10). The disasters of the latter cannot be his disasters, since after death (“when the number of his months is ended” - v. 21) he knows nothing about the fate of his offspring (Job 14.21; Eccl. 9.5–6). Therefore, whoever has sinned must be punished (vv. 19–20; cf. Ezekiel 18.4), he himself must drink the cup of divine wrath (vv. 20 cf. Ps. 74.9). Job 21:22. But can God be taught wisdom when He judges those above? Claiming that there is strict retribution on earth, insisting on its immutability (Job 18.4) and antiquity, the originality of the human race (Job 20.4), friends want to be wiser than God, prescribe the laws of the world to the One who, in His wisdom, is immeasurably higher than man: “judges those on high” - the inhabitants of heaven (Heb. “ramim”; cf. Job 4.18, 15.15, 25.2; Ps 77.69; Isa 24.21). They want to teach the ruler of heaven how to rule the earth! Job 21:23. One dies in the fullness of his strength, completely calm and peaceful; Job 21:24. its entrails are full of fat, and its bones are filled with marrow. Job 21:25. And the other dies with a sad soul, having not tasted good. Job 21:26. And they will lie together in the dust, and the worm will cover them. Friends play such a role because the divine government of the world follows completely different principles. It knows no reward either here on earth or after death. One, that is, the wicked dies in a state of complete external well-being (“in the fullness of his strength”; cf. Ps. 37.4, 8), with all the signs of a happily spent life (v. 24; cf. Isa. 58.11), the other, the righteous, goes to the grave, having experienced all the bitterness of a human life doomed to suffering (“with a sorrowful soul”, cf. Job 3.20, 7.11, 10.1). For the righteous and the sinner there is no reward on earth, and there is none after death. Both will equally rest in the grave, becoming prey to worms (cf. Job 17.14; Eccl. 9.2). Job 21:27. I know your thoughts and the tricks that you weave against me. Job 21:28. You will say: where is the prince’s house, and where is the tent in which the wicked lived? An objection to the view expressed by Job is the repeated statements of friends that one of the proofs of the punishment of sinners is the destruction of his home (Job 8.22, 15.34, 18.15, 21). In view of the possibility of their repetition in the present case (“where is the prince’s house?”), Job cites data that weakens the power of this consideration. Job 21:29. Haven't you asked travelers and are unfamiliar with their observations, Job 21:30. that on the day of destruction the wicked is spared, and on the day of wrath he is put aside? They are the testimonies of many travelers who have seen and heard, that is, data with a touch of universality, ubiquity. They certify that the wicked are not exposed to disasters and escape destruction. Job 21:31. Who will show him his way, and who will reward him for what he did? And if God himself spares the sinner, then even more so none of the people dares to reproach and accuse him of untruths and punish him. Job 21:32. He is escorted to the coffins and a guard is placed at his grave. Not rebuked by anyone during his life, the wicked enjoys signs of attention and respect even after death. He is escorted with honor to the grave, and the memory of him does not disappear, as Bildad claims (Job 18.17), but continues to live: “they put a guard on his grave” - one or another monument - or they simply protect it from destruction. Job 21:33. The rocks of the valley are sweet to him, and a crowd of people follows him, and there is no number of those walking in front of him. Buried with honor, undisturbed by the bad reviews of his descendants, the sinner sleeps peacefully in the “blocks of the valley” (Job 38.38) - a favorite burial place in the east, and the happiness that he enjoyed during his life evokes in his descendants not a feeling of horror (Job 18.20), but a desire to imitate him (cf. Eccl. 4.15–16), just as he followed in the footsteps of his predecessors. Job 21:34. How do you want to console me empty? There is only one lie left in your answers. The absence of remuneration makes the advice and promises of friends that Job would receive earthly happiness under the condition of turning to God unfulfillable. You might be interested in: