Job 8
1 And Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith: —
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 Till when dost thou speak these things? And a strong wind — sayings of thy mouth?
“How long will you say these things? How long will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 Doth God pervert judgment? And doth the Mighty One pervert justice?
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4 If thy sons have sinned before Him, And He doth send them away, By the hand of their transgression,
Your children have sinned against him; we know this, for he gave them into the hand of their sins.
5 If thou dost seek early unto God, And unto the Mighty makest supplication,
But suppose you diligently sought God and presented your request to the Almighty.
6 If pure and upright thou [art], Surely now He waketh for thee, And hath completed The habitation of thy righteousness.
If you are pure and upright, then he would surely stir himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.
7 And thy beginning hath been small, And thy latter end is very great.
Even though your beginning was small, still your final condition would be much greater.
8 For, ask I pray thee of a former generation, And prepare to a search of their fathers,
Please ask the former generations, and give your attention to what our ancestors learned.
9 (For of yesterday we [are], and we know not, For a shadow [are] our days on earth.)
(We were only born yesterday and know nothing because our days on earth are a shadow).
10 Do they not shew thee — speak to thee, And from their heart bring forth words?
Will they not teach you and tell you? Will they not speak words from their hearts?
11 'Doth a rush wise without mire? A reed increase without water?
Can papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 While it [is] in its budding — uncropped, Even before any herb it withereth.
While they are still green and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
13 So [are] the paths of all forgetting God, And the hope of the profane doth perish,
So also are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14 Whose confidence is loathsome, And the house of a spider his trust.
His confidence will break apart, and his trust is as weak as a spider's web.
15 He leaneth on his house — and it standeth not: He taketh hold on it — and it abideth not.
He leans on his house, but it will not support him; he takes hold of it, but it does not stand.
16 Green he [is] before the sun, And over his garden his branch goeth out.
Under the sun he is green, and his shoots go out over his entire garden.
17 By a heap his roots are wrapped, A house of stones he looketh for.
His roots are wrapped about the heaps of stone; they look for good places among the rocks.
18 If [one] doth destroy him from his place, Then it hath feigned concerning him, I have not seen thee!
But if this person is destroyed out of his place, then that place will deny him and say, 'I never saw you.'
19 Lo, this [is] the joy of his way, And from the dust others spring up.'
See, this is the “joy” of such a person's behavior; other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place.
20 Lo, God doth not reject the perfect, Nor taketh hold on the hand of evil doers.
See, God will not cast away an innocent man; neither will he take the hand of evildoers.
21 While he filleth with laughter thy mouth, And thy lips with shouting,
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
22 Those hating thee do put on shame, And the tent of the wicked is not!
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
