Job 8

Bildad Speaks

8Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

²How long will you go on saying these things?

Your words ^mare a blast of wind. ⁿ

³Does God pervert justice? ^o

Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ^p

⁴Since your children sinned against Him,

He gave them over to their rebellion.

⁵But if you earnestly seek ^qGod

and ask the Almighty for mercy, ^r

⁶if you are pure and upright,

then He will move even now on your behalf

and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. ^s

⁷Then, even if your beginnings were modest,

your final days will be full of prosperity. ^t

⁸For ask the previous generation,

and pay attention to what their fathers discovered, ^u

⁹since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.

Our days on earth are but a shadow. ^v

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you

and speak from their understanding?

¹¹Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Do reeds flourish without water?

¹²While still uncut shoots,

they would dry up quicker than any other plant.

¹³Such is the destiny ^wof all who forget God;

the hope of the godless ^xwill perish.

¹⁴His source of confidence is fragile; ^y

what he trusts in is a spider’s web. ^z

¹⁵He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.

He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

¹⁶He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;

his shoots spread out over his garden.

¹⁷His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.

He looks for a home among the stones.

¹⁸If he is uprooted ^afrom his place,

it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.” ^b

¹⁹Surely this is the joy of his way of life;

yet others will sprout from the dust.

²⁰Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,

and He will not support evildoers. ^c

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with a shout of joy. ^d

²²Your enemies will be clothed with shame; ^e

the tent ^fof the wicked will exist no longer.