NET Bible

Bildad’s First Speech to Job1

^8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:

^8:2 “How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind? ^8:3 Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? ^8:4 If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. ^8:5 But if you will look to God and make your supplication to the Almighty, ^8:6 if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you and will restore your righteous home. ^8:7 Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. ^8:8 “For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; ^8:9 For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. ^8:10 Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? ^8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? ^8:12 While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass. ^8:13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, ^8:14 whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider’s web. ^8:15 He leans against his house, but it does not hold up; he takes hold of it, but it does not stand. ^8:16 He is a well-watered plant in the sun; its shoots spread over its garden. ^8:17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones, and it looks for a place among stones. ^8:18 If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you!’ ^8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. ^8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. ^8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with gladness. ^8:22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”