Job 8

Bildad

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.

3 Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

5 But if you will look to God
and plead with the Almighty,

6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.

7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.

8 “Ask the former generations
and find out what their fathers learned,

9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.

10 Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?

12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

14 What he trusts in is fragile;
what he relies on is a spider's web.

15 He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he clings to it, but it does not hold.

16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;

17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.

18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

19 Surely its life withers away,
and from the soil other plants grow.

20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.

22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

JOB 8

Bildad's First Speech

How Long Will You Talk?

1 Bildad from Shuaht said:

2 How long will you talk
and keep saying nothing?

3 Does God All-Powerful
stand in the way of justice?

4 He made your children pay
for their sins.

5 So why don't you turn to him

6 and start living right?
Then he will decide
to rescue and restore you
to your place of honor.

7 Your future will be brighter
by far than your past.

Our Ancestors Were Wise

8  t Our ancestors were wise,
so learn from them.

9 Our own time has been short,
like a fading shadow,
and we know very little.

10 But they will instruct you
with great understanding.

11 Papyrus reeds grow healthy
only in a swamp,

12 and if the water dries up,
they die sooner than grass.

13 Such is the hopeless future
of all who turn from God

14 and trust in something as frail
as a spider's web—

15 they take hold and fall
because it's so flimsy.

16 Sinful people are like plants
with spreading roots and plenty
of sun and water.

17 They wrap their roots tightly
around rocks.t

18 But once they are pulled up,
they have no more place;

19 their life slips away, t
and other plants grow there.

20 We know God doesn't reject
an innocent person
or help a sinner.

21 And so, he will make you happy
and give you something
to smile about.

22 But your evil enemies
will be put to shame
and disappear forever.