1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:2‘How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?4When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.5But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty,6if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state.7Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.8‘Ask the former generations and find out what their ancestors learned,9for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow.10Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?11Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?12While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.14What they trust in is fragile[1]; what they rely on is a spider’s web.15They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.16They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden;17it entwines its roots round a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones.18But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, “I never saw you.”19Surely its life withers away, and[2] from the soil other plants grow.20‘Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers.21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.22Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more.’
Job 8
English Standard Version
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: (Job 2:11)2“How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? (1Ki 19:11; Job 15:2)3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? (Ge 18:25; De 32:4; 2Ch 19:7; Ezr 9:15; Job 34:12; Da 9:14; Ro 3:5)4If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. (Job 1:5; Job 1:18)5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, (Job 9:15)6if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. (Ps 7:6; Pr 3:33)7And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. (Job 42:12; Jas 5:11)8“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. (De 4:32; De 32:7; Job 15:18)9For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. (1Ch 29:15; Job 14:2; Job 17:7; Ps 102:11; Ps 109:23; Ps 144:4; Ec 6:12)10Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding?11“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water?12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. (Ps 37:2; Ps 129:6)13Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. (Job 13:16; Job 15:34; Job 27:8; Ps 9:17; Pr 10:28; Pr 11:7)14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web.[1] (Isa 59:5)15He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. (Job 27:18)16He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. (Ps 80:11)17His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones.18If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ (Job 7:8; Job 7:10)19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. (1Sa 2:7; Ps 103:16; Ps 113:7)20“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers.21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. (Ps 126:2)22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” (Ps 35:26; Ps 109:29; Ps 132:18)