Job 8

1 Respondens autem Baldad Suhites, dixit:

Then Bildad, from [the] Shuah [area], spoke to Job. He said,

2 [Usquequo loqueris talia, et spiritus multiplex sermones oris tui?

“Job, how much longer will you talk like this? What you say is [only] hot air.

3 Numquid Deus supplantat judicium? aut Omnipotens subvertit quod justum est?

Almighty God certainly never does [RHQ] what is unfair/unjust. He always does [LIT] what is right/fair.

4 Etiam si filii tui peccaverunt ei, et dimisit eos in manu iniquitatis suæ:

So, it is evident that your children have sinned against him, therefore he has caused them to be punished for evil things that they have done.

5 tu tamen si diluculo consurrexeris ad Deum, et Omnipotentem fueris deprecatus;

But, if you will [now] earnestly request [DOU] Almighty [God] to help you,

6 si mundus et rectus incesseris: statim evigilabit ad te, et pacatum reddet habitaculum justitiæ tuæ,

and if you are pure and honest/righteous, he will surely do something good for you and reward you by giving your family back to you and enabling you to prosper.

7 in tantum ut si priora tua fuerint parva, et novissima tua multiplicentur nimis.

And even though you [think that you] were not very prosperous/wealthy before, during the last part of your life you will become very wealthy.

8 Interroga enim generationem pristinam, et diligenter investiga patrum memoriam

“I request you to think about what happened long ago and consider what our ancestors found out.

9 (hesterni quippe sumus, et ignoramus, quoniam sicut umbra dies nostri sunt super terram),

[It seems as though] we were born only yesterday and we know very little [HYP]; our time here on the earth [disappears quickly, like] a shadow [MET].

10 et ipsi docebunt te, loquentur tibi, et de corde suo proferent eloquia.

So, why do you not allow your ancestors to teach you and tell you something? Allow them to tell you from what they learned!

11 Numquid vivere potest scirpus absque humore? aut crescere carectum sine aqua?

Papyrus can certainly not [RHQ] grow in places where there is no marsh/swamp; reeds certainly cannot [RHQ] flourish/grow where there is no water.

12 Cum adhuc sit in flore, nec carpatur manu, ante omnes herbas arescit.

[If they do not have enough water], while they are still blossoming, they wither more quickly than other plants wither.

13 Sic viæ omnium qui obliviscuntur Deum, et spes hypocritæ peribit.

Those who do not pay attention to what God says are like those [reeds]; godless people stop confidently expecting [that good things will happen to them].

14 Non ei placebit vecordia sua, et sicut tela aranearum fiducia ejus.

The things they confidently expect to happen do not happen; things they trust [will help them] are [as fragile as] [MET] a spider’s web.

15 Innitetur super domum suam, et non stabit; fulciet eam, et non consurget.

If they lean against a house (OR, trust in their wealth; OR, lean on a spider web), it does not (endure/protect them) [LIT]; they cling to things [to be protected], but those things do not remain firm.

16 Humectus videtur antequam veniat sol, et in ortu suo germen ejus egredietur.

Godless people [are like plants] [MET] that are watered before the sun rises; their shoots spread all over the gardens.

17 Super acervum petrarum radices ejus densabuntur, et inter lapides commorabitur.

The roots of those plants twist around piles of stones and cling tightly to rocks.

18 Si absorbuerit eum de loco suo, negabit eum, et dicet: Non novi te.

But if those plants are pulled out, [it is as though] the place where they were planted says ‘They were never here!’ [And that is what happens to wicked people who do not heed what God says].

19 Hæc est enim lætitia viæ ejus, ut rursum de terra alii germinentur.

Truly, evil people [MET] are not joyful [IRO] for a long time; other people come and take their places.

20 Deus non projiciet simplicem, nec porriget manum malignis,

:So, [I tell you, Job], God will not reject you if you are truly godly/righteous, but he does not help [IDM] evil people.

21 donec impleatur risu os tuum, et labia tua jubilo.

He will enable you [MTY] to continually laugh and to always shout [joyfully].

22 Qui oderunt te induentur confusione, et tabernaculum impiorum non subsistet.]

But those who hate you will be very ashamed, and the homes of wicked people will disappear.”