Job 8

Bildad

Then Bildad the Shuhite^a replied:

“How long will you say such things?^b

Your words are a blustering wind.^c

Does God pervert justice?^d

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^e

When your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^f

But if you will seek God earnestly

and plead^g with the Almighty,^h

if you are pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself on your behalfⁱ

and restore you to your prosperous state.^j

Your beginnings will seem humble,

so prosperous^k will your future be.^l

“Ask the former generation^m

and find out what their ancestors learned,

for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,ⁿ

and our days on earth are but a shadow.^o

Will they not instruct^p you and tell you?

Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^q

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^r

Can reeds^s thrive without water?

While still growing and uncut,

they wither more quickly than grass.^t

Such is the destiny^u of all who forget God;^v

so perishes the hope of the godless.^w

What they trust in is fragile;

what they rely on is a spider’s web.^x

They lean on the web,^y but it gives way;

they cling to it, but it does not hold.^z

They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots^a over the garden;^b

it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks

and looks for a place among the stones.

But when it is torn from its spot,

that place disowns^c it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^d

Surely its life withers^e away,

and from the soil other plants grow.^f

“Surely God does not reject the blameless^g

or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^h

He will yet fill your mouth with laughterⁱ

and your lips with shouts of joy.^j

Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^k

and the tents^l of the wicked will be no more.”^m