Job 8
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said:
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
2 How long wilt thou speak such things? How long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
“How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!
3 Will God pervert judgment? Or will the Almighty pervert justice?
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 As thy children sinned against him, He hath given them up to their transgression.
Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them.
5 But if thou wilt seek early to God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty, —
But if you pray to God and ask for his help,
6 If thou wilt be pure and upright, Surely he will yet arise for thee, And prosper thy righteous habitation;
if you live a clean life and do what is right, then he would act to make things right for you in your home.
7 So that thy beginning shall be small, And thy latter end very great.
Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!
8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And mark what hath been searched out by their fathers;
Why don't you ask what previous generations discovered, examine what our ancestors found out? We were born yesterday and don't know anything!
9 (For we are of yesterday and know nothing, Since our days upon the earth are but a shadow; )
Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow.
10 Will not they instruct thee, and tell thee, And utter words from their understanding?
Won't they teach you and explain what they know?
11 “Can the paper-reed grow up without mire? Can the bulrush grow without water?
Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 While it is yet in its greenness, and is not cut down, It withereth before any other herb.
Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass.
13 Such is the fate of all who forget God; So perisheth the hope of the ungodly.
This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing.
14 His confidence shall come to nought, And his trust shall prove a spider's web.
Their confidence is like holding on to a flimsy 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.
They look to their home to provide security, but it provides no support. They try to hang onto it, but it doesn't last.
16 He is in full green before the sun, And his branches shoot forth over his garden;
Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden.
17 His roots are entwined about the heap, And he seeth the place of stones;
It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock.
18 When he shall be destroyed from his place, It shall deny him, saying, 'I never saw thee.'
But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’
19 Lo! such is the joy of his course! And others shall spring up from his place”
Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.
20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man; Nor will he help the evil-doers.
Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty.
21 While he filleth thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with gladness,
He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy.
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 put to shame, and the place where the wicked live will be destroyed.”
