Job 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
2 “How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk.
“How long will you go on talking, hunting for the right words to say? Talk sense if you want us to reply!
3 Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?
Do you think we're dumb animals? Do we look stupid to you?
4 You who tear yourself in anger— should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
You tear yourself apart with your anger. Do you think the earth has to be abandoned, or the mountains moved, just because of you?
5 Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
It's certain that the life of the wicked will end like a lamp that is snuffed out—their flame will shine no more.
6 The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.
The light in their home goes out, the lamp hanging above is extinguished.
7 His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
Instead of taking strong strides they stumble, and their own plans cause them to fall.
8 For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.
Their own feet trip them up and they are caught in a net; as they walk along they fall into a pit.
9 A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.
A trap grabs them by the heel; a snare tightens around them.
10 A noose is hidden in the ground, and a trap lies in his path.
A noose is hidden on the ground for them; a rope is stretched across the path to trip them.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.
Terrors scare the wicked, coming at them from every side, chasing them, biting at their heels.
12 His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side.
Hunger robs them of strength; disaster waits for them when they fall.
13 It devours patches of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his limbs.
Disease devours their skin; deadly disease consumes their limbs.
14 He is torn from the shelter of his tent and is marched off to the king of terrors.
They are torn from the homes they trusted in and taken to the king of terrors.
15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.
People they don't know will live in their homes; sulfur will be scattered where they used to live.
16 The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
They wither away, roots below and branches above;
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the land.
the memory of them fades from the earth; nobody remembers their names any more.
18 He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
They are thrown out of light into darkness, driven from the world.
19 He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.
They have no children or descendants among their people, and no survivors where they used to live.
20 Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
People of the west are appalled at what happens to them. People of the east are shocked.
21 Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked and the place of one who does not know God.”
This is what happens to the homes of the wicked, to the places of those who reject God.”
