Job 8
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Βαλδαδ ὁ Σαυχίτης λέγει
2 “How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!
μέχρι τίνος λαλήσεις ταῦτα πνεῦμα πολυρῆμον τοῦ στόματός σου
3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
μὴ ὁ κύριος ἀδικήσει κρίνων ἢ ὁ τὰ πάντα ποιήσας ταράξει τὸ δίκαιον
4 Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them.
εἰ οἱ υἱοί σου ἥμαρτον ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλεν ἐν χειρὶ ἀνομίας αὐτῶν
5 But if you pray to God and ask for his help,
σὺ δὲ ὄρθριζε πρὸς κύριον παντοκράτορα δεόμενος
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.
εἰ καθαρὸς εἶ καὶ ἀληθινός δεήσεως ἐπακούσεταί σου ἀποκαταστήσει δέ σοι δίαιταν δικαιοσύνης
7 Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!
ἔσται οὖν τὰ μὲν πρῶτά σου ὀλίγα τὰ δὲ ἔσχατά σου ἀμύθητα
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!
ἐπερώτησον γὰρ γενεὰν πρώτην ἐξιχνίασον δὲ κατὰ γένος πατέρων
9 Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow.
χθιζοὶ γάρ ἐσμεν καὶ οὐκ οἴδαμεν σκιὰ γάρ ἐστιν ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὁ βίος
10 Won't they teach you and explain what they know?
ἦ οὐχ οὗτοί σε διδάξουσιν καὶ ἀναγγελοῦσιν καὶ ἐκ καρδίας ἐξάξουσιν ῥήματα
11 Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
μὴ θάλλει πάπυρος ἄνευ ὕδατος ἢ ὑψωθήσεται βούτομον ἄνευ πότου
12 Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass.
ἔτι ὂν ἐπὶ ῥίζης καὶ οὐ μὴ θερισθῇ πρὸ τοῦ πιεῖν πᾶσα βοτάνη οὐχὶ ξηραίνεται
13 This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing.
οὕτως τοίνυν ἔσται τὰ ἔσχατα πάντων τῶν ἐπιλανθανομένων τοῦ κυρίου ἐλπὶς γὰρ ἀσεβοῦς ἀπολεῖται
14 Their confidence is like holding on to a flimsy spider's web.
ἀοίκητος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἔσται ὁ οἶκος ἀράχνη δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀποβήσεται ἡ σκηνή
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.
ἐὰν ὑπερείσῃ τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ στῇ ἐπιλαβομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ὑπομείνῃ
16 Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden.
ὑγρὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὑπὸ ἡλίου καὶ ἐκ σαπρίας αὐτοῦ ὁ ῥάδαμνος αὐτοῦ ἐξελεύσεται
17 It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock.
ἐπὶ συναγωγὴν λίθων κοιμᾶται ἐν δὲ μέσῳ χαλίκων ζήσεται
18 But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’
ἐὰν καταπίῃ ὁ τόπος ψεύσεται αὐτόν οὐχ ἑόρακας τοιαῦτα
19 Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.
ὅτι καταστροφὴ ἀσεβοῦς τοιαύτη ἐκ δὲ γῆς ἄλλον ἀναβλαστήσει
20 Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty.
ὁ γὰρ κύριος οὐ μὴ ἀποποιήσηται τὸν ἄκακον πᾶν δὲ δῶρον ἀσεβοῦς οὐ δέξεται
21 He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy.
ἀληθινῶν δὲ στόμα ἐμπλήσει γέλωτος τὰ δὲ χείλη αὐτῶν ἐξομολογήσεως
22 Those who hate you will be put to shame, and the place where the wicked live will be destroyed.”
οἱ δὲ ἐχθροὶ αὐτῶν ἐνδύσονται αἰσχύνην δίαιτα δὲ ἀσεβοῦς οὐκ ἔσται
