איוב 8
| ויען בלדד השוחי ויאמר | 1 |
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
| עד-אן תמלל-אלה ורוח כביר אמרי-פיך | 2 |
“How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!
| האל יעות משפט ואם-שדי יעות-צדק | 3 |
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
| אם-בניך חטאו-לו וישלחם ביד-פשעם | 4 |
Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them.
| אם-אתה תשחר אל-אל ואל-שדי תתחנן | 5 |
But if you pray to God and ask for his help,
| אם-זך וישר אתה כי-עתה יעיר עליך ושלם נות צדקך | 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.
| והיה ראשיתך מצער ואחריתך ישגה מאד | 7 |
Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!
| כי-שאל-נא לדר רישון וכונן לחקר אבותם | 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!
| כי-תמול אנחנו ולא נדע כי צל ימינו עלי-ארץ | 9 |
Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow.
| הלא-הם יורוך יאמרו לך ומלבם יוצאו מלים | 10 |
Won't they teach you and explain what they know?
| היגאה-גמא בלא בצה ישגה-אחו בלי-מים | 11 |
Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
| עדנו באבו לא יקטף ולפני כל-חציר ייבש | 12 |
Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass.
| כן--ארחות כל-שכחי אל ותקות חנף תאבד | 13 |
This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing.
| אשר-יקוט כסלו ובית עכביש מבטחו | 14 |
Their confidence is like holding on to a flimsy spider's web.
| ישען על-ביתו ולא יעמד יחזיק בו ולא יקום | 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.
| רטב הוא לפני-שמש ועל גנתו ינקתו תצא | 16 |
Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden.
| על-גל שרשיו יסבכו בית אבנים יחזה | 17 |
It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock.
| אם-יבלענו ממקמו וכחש בו לא ראיתיך | 18 |
But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’
| הן-הוא משוש דרכו ומעפר אחר יצמחו | 19 |
Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.
| הן-אל לא ימאס-תם ולא-יחזיק ביד-מרעים | 20 |
Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty.
| עד-ימלה שחוק פיך ושפתיך תרועה | 21 |
He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy.
| שנאיך ילבשו-בשת ואהל רשעים איננו | 22 |
Those who hate you will be put to shame, and the place where the wicked live will be destroyed.”
