Chapter 8

Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite 1answered,

2 “How long will you say these things,

And the awords of your mouth be a mighty wind?

3 “Does aGod pervert justice?

Or does 1the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 “aIf your sons sinned against Him,

Then He delivered them into the 1power of their transgression.

5 “If you would aseek God

And implore the compassion of 1the Almighty,

6 If you are pure and upright,

Surely now aHe would rouse Himself for you

And restore your righteous 1bestate.

7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,

Yet your aend will increase greatly.

8 “Please ainquire of past generations,

And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,

Because aour days on earth are as a shadow.

10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,

And bring forth words from their minds?

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the rushes grow without water?

12 “While it is still green and not cut down,

Yet it withers before any other 1plant.

13 “So are the paths of aall who forget God;

And the bhope of the godless will perish,

14 Whose confidence is fragile,

And whose trust a aspider’s 1web.

15 “He 1trusts in his ahouse, but it does not stand;

He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16 “He 1athrives before the sun,

And his bshoots spread out over his garden.

17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,

He 1grasps a house of stones.

18 “If he is 1removed from ahis place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘bI never saw you.’

19 “Behold, athis is the joy of His way;

And out of the dust others will spring.

20 “Lo, aGod will not reject a man of integrity,

Nor bwill He 1support the evildoers.

21 “He will yet fill ayour mouth with laughter

And your lips with shouting.

22 “Those who hate you will be aclothed with shame,

And the btent of the wicked will be no longer.”

Chapter 9

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

1 Then Job 1answered,

2 “In truth I know that this is so;

But how can a aman be in the right 1before God?

3 “If one wished to adispute with Him,

He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

4 “aWise in heart and bmighty in strength,

Who has 1cdefied Him 2without harm?

5 “aIt is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,

When He overturns them in His anger;

6 Who ashakes the earth out of its place,

And its bpillars tremble;

7 Who commands the asun 1not to shine,

And sets a seal upon the stars;

8 Who alone astretches out the heavens

And 1btramples down the waves of the sea;

9 Who makes the aBear, Orion and the Pleiades,

And the bchambers of the south;

10 Who adoes great things, 1unfathomable,

And wondrous works without number.

11 “Were He to pass by me, aI would not see Him;

Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

12 “Were He to snatch away, who could arestrain Him?

Who could say to Him, ‘bWhat are You doing?’

13 “God will not turn back His anger;

Beneath Him crouch the helpers of aRahab.

14 “How then can aI 1answer Him,

And choose my words 2before Him?

15 “For athough I were right, I could not 1answer;

I would have to bimplore the mercy of my judge.

16 “If I called and He answered me,

I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

17 “For He abruises me with a tempest

And multiplies my wounds without cause.

18 “He will anot allow me to get my breath,

But saturates me with bbitterness.

19 “If it is a matter of power, abehold, He is the strong one!

And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon 1Him?

20 “aThough I am righteous, my mouth will bcondemn me;

Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.

21 “I am aguiltless;

I do not take notice of myself;

I bdespise my life.

22 “It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He adestroys the guiltless and the wicked.’

23 “If the scourge kills suddenly,

He amocks the despair of the innocent.

24 “The earth ais given into the hand of the wicked;

He bcovers the faces of its judges.

If it is not He, then who is it?

25 “Now amy days are swifter than a runner;

They flee away, bthey see no good.

26 “They slip by like areed boats,

Like an beagle that swoops on 1its prey.

27 “Though I say, ‘I will forget amy complaint,

I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’

28 I am aafraid of all my pains,

I know that bYou will not acquit me.

29 “I am accounted awicked,

Why then should I toil in vain?

30 “If I should awash myself with snow

And cleanse bmy hands with lye,

31 Yet You would plunge me into the pit,

And my own clothes would abhor me.

32 “For aHe is not a man as I am that bI may answer Him,

That we may go to 1court together.

33 “There is no aumpire between us,

Who may lay his hand upon us both.

34 “Let Him aremove His rod from me,

And let not dread of Him terrify me.

35 “Then I awould speak and not fear Him;

But I am not like that in myself.

Chapter 10

Job Despairs of God’s Dealings

1 “1aI loathe my own life;

I will give full vent to bmy complaint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2 “I will say to God, ‘aDo not condemn me;

Let me know why You contend with me.

3 ‘Is it 1right for You indeed to aoppress,

To reject bthe labor of Your hands,

And 2to look favorably on cthe schemes of the wicked?

4 ‘Have You eyes of flesh?

Or do You asee as a man sees?

5 ‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,

Or aYour years as man’s years,

6 That aYou should seek for my guilt

And search after my sin?

7 ‘According to Your knowledge aI am indeed not guilty,

Yet there is bno deliverance from Your hand.

8 ‘aYour hands fashioned and made me 1altogether,

bAnd would You destroy me?

9 ‘Remember now, that You have made me as aclay;

And would You bturn me into dust again?

10 ‘Did You not pour me out like milk

And curdle me like cheese;

11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,

And knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 ‘You have agranted me life and lovingkindness;

And Your care has preserved my spirit.

13 ‘Yet athese things You have concealed in Your heart;

I know that this is within You:

14 If I sin, then You would atake note of me,

And bwould not acquit me of my guilt.

15 ‘If aI am wicked, woe to me!

And bif I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.

I am sated with disgrace and 1conscious of my misery.

16 ‘Should my head be lifted up, aYou would hunt me like a lion;

And again You would show Your bpower against me.

17 ‘You renew aYour witnesses against me

And increase Your anger toward me;

1bHardship after hardship is with me.

18 ‘aWhy then have You brought me out of the womb?

Would that I had died and no eye had seen me!

19 ‘I should have been as though I had not been,

Carried from womb to tomb.’

20 “Would He not let amy few days alone?

1bWithdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

21 Before I go—aand I shall not return—

bTo the land of darkness and cdeep shadow,

22 The land of utter gloom as darkness itself,

Of deep shadow without order,

And which shines as the darkness.”