Job 8
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
Then Bildad, from [the] Shuah [area], spoke to Job. He said,
2 “How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!
“Job, how much longer will you talk like this? What you say is [only] hot air.
3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
Almighty God certainly never does [RHQ] what is unfair/unjust. He always does [LIT] what is right/fair.
4 Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them.
So, it is evident that your children have sinned against him, therefore he has caused them to be punished for evil things that they have done.
5 But if you pray to God and ask for his help,
But, if you will [now] earnestly request [DOU] Almighty [God] to help you,
6 if you live a clean life and do what is right, then he would act to make things right for you in your home.
and if you are pure and honest/righteous, he will surely do something good for you and reward you by giving your family back to you and enabling you to prosper.
7 Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!
And even though you [think that you] were not very prosperous/wealthy before, during the last part of your life you will become very wealthy.
8 Why don't you ask what previous generations discovered, examine what our ancestors found out? We were born yesterday and don't know anything!
“I request you to think about what happened long ago and consider what our ancestors found out.
9 Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow.
[It seems as though] we were born only yesterday and we know very little [HYP]; our time here on the earth [disappears quickly, like] a shadow [MET].
10 Won't they teach you and explain what they know?
So, why do you not allow your ancestors to teach you and tell you something? Allow them to tell you from what they learned!
11 Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
Papyrus can certainly not [RHQ] grow in places where there is no marsh/swamp; reeds certainly cannot [RHQ] flourish/grow where there is no water.
12 Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass.
[If they do not have enough water], while they are still blossoming, they wither more quickly than other plants wither.
13 This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing.
Those who do not pay attention to what God says are like those [reeds]; godless people stop confidently expecting [that good things will happen to them].
14 Their confidence is like holding on to a flimsy spider's web.
The things they confidently expect to happen do not happen; things they trust [will help them] are [as fragile as] [MET] a spider’s web.
15 They look to their home to provide security, but it provides no support. They try to hang onto it, but it doesn't last.
If they lean against a house (OR, trust in their wealth; OR, lean on a spider web), it does not (endure/protect them) [LIT]; they cling to things [to be protected], but those things do not remain firm.
16 Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden.
Godless people [are like plants] [MET] that are watered before the sun rises; their shoots spread all over the gardens.
17 It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock.
The roots of those plants twist around piles of stones and cling tightly to rocks.
18 But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’
But if those plants are pulled out, [it is as though] the place where they were planted says ‘They were never here!’ [And that is what happens to wicked people who do not heed what God says].
19 Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.
Truly, evil people [MET] are not joyful [IRO] for a long time; other people come and take their places.
20 Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty.
:So, [I tell you, Job], God will not reject you if you are truly godly/righteous, but he does not help [IDM] evil people.
21 He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy.
He will enable you [MTY] to continually laugh and to always shout [joyfully].
22 Those who hate you will be put to shame, and the place where the wicked live will be destroyed.”
But those who hate you will be very ashamed, and the homes of wicked people will disappear.”
