Job 8
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said:
But Baldad the Suhite, responding, said:
2 How long wilt thou speak such things? How long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
How long will you speak this way, so that the words of your mouth are like a changeable wind?
3 Will God pervert judgment? Or will the Almighty pervert justice?
Does God supplant judgment, or does the Almighty subvert that which is just?
4 As thy children sinned against him, He hath given them up to their transgression.
And if now your children have sinned against him, and he has dismissed them into the power of their iniquity,
5 But if thou wilt seek early to God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty, —
even so, you should arise early to God, so as to beseech the Almighty.
6 If thou wilt be pure and upright, Surely he will yet arise for thee, And prosper thy righteous habitation;
If you approach with purity and honesty, he will quickly be attentive to you, and a peaceful life will repay your righteousness,
7 So that thy beginning shall be small, And thy latter end very great.
so much so that, if your former things were small, your latter things would be multiplied greatly.
8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And mark what hath been searched out by their fathers;
For inquire of the earliest generation, and investigate diligently the history of the fathers,
9 (For we are of yesterday and know nothing, Since our days upon the earth are but a shadow; )
(of course, we are but of yesterday and are ignorant that our days on earth are like a shadow, )
10 Will not they instruct thee, and tell thee, And utter words from their understanding?
and they will teach you; they will speak with you and will offer you the eloquence of their hearts.
11 “Can the paper-reed grow up without mire? Can the bulrush grow without water?
Can the marsh plant live without moisture? Or can sedges grow without water?
12 While it is yet in its greenness, and is not cut down, It withereth before any other herb.
When it is still in flower, and has not been pulled up by hand, it withers before all other plants.
13 Such is the fate of all who forget God; So perisheth the hope of the ungodly.
Just so are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish.
14 His confidence shall come to nought, And his trust shall prove a spider's web.
His frenzy will not please him, and his faith will be like a spider’s web.
15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; He shall lay fast hold on it, but it shall not endure.
He will lean on his house, and it will not stand; he will prop it up, but it will not rise.
16 He is in full green before the sun, And his branches shoot forth over his garden;
He seems to have moisture before the sun arrives; and at sunrise, his sprout shoots forth.
17 His roots are entwined about the heap, And he seeth the place of stones;
His roots will crowd together over a heap of stones, and among the stones he will remain.
18 When he shall be destroyed from his place, It shall deny him, saying, 'I never saw thee.'
If someone is devoured right beside him, he will deny him and will say: “I do not know you.”
19 Lo! such is the joy of his course! And others shall spring up from his place”
For this is the benefit of his way, that others in turn may spring up from the earth.
20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man; Nor will he help the evil-doers.
God will not discard the simple, nor will he extend his hand to the spiteful,
21 While he filleth thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with gladness,
even until your mouth is filled with laughter and your lips with rejoicing.
22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, And the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to nought.
Those who hate you, will be clothed with confusion, and the tabernacle of the impious will not continue.
