Job 8
1 Respondens autem Baldad Suhites, dixit:
Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said,
2 Usquequo loqueris talia, et spiritus multiplex sermones oris tui?
“How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!
3 Numquid Deus supplantat iudicium? aut Omnipotens subvertit quod iustum est?
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 Etiam si filii tui peccaverunt ei, et dimisit eos in manu iniquitatis suae:
Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them.
5 Tu tamen si diluculo consurrexeris ad Deum, et Omnipotentem fueris deprecatus:
But if you pray to God and ask for his help,
6 Si mundus et rectus incesseris, statim evigilabit ad te, et pacatum reddet habitaculum iustitiae tuae:
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 In tantum, ut si priora tua fuerint parva, et novissima tua multiplicentur nimis.
Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!
8 Interroga enim generationem pristinam, et diligenter investiga patrum memoriam:
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 (Hesterni quippe sumus, et ignoramus quoniam sicut umbra dies nostri sunt super terram.)
Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow.
10 Et ipsi docebunt te: loquentur tibi, et de corde suo proferent eloquia.
Won't they teach you and explain what they know?
11 Numquid vivere potest scirpus absque humore? aut crescere carectum sine aqua?
Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 Cum adhuc sit in flore, nec carpatur manu, ante omnes herbas arescit:
Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass.
13 Sic viae omnium, qui obliviscuntur Deum, et spes hypocritae peribit:
This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing.
14 Non ei placebit vecordia sua, et sicut tela aranearum fiducia eius.
Their confidence is like holding on to a flimsy spider's web.
15 Innitetur super domum suam, et non stabit: fulciet eam, et non consurget:
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 Humectus videtur antequam veniat Sol, et in ortu suo germen eius egredietur.
Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden.
17 Super acervum petrarum radices eius densabuntur, et inter lapides commorabitur.
It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock.
18 Si absorbuerit eum de loco suo, negabit eum, et dicet: Non novi te.
But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’
19 Haec est enim laetitia viae eius, ut rursum de terra alii germinentur.
Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.
20 Deus non proiiciet simplicem, nec porriget manum malignis:
Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty.
21 Donec impleatur risu os tuum, et labia tua iubilo.
He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy.
22 Qui oderunt te, induentur confusione: et tabernaculum impiorum non subsistet.
Those who hate you will be put to shame, and the place where the wicked live will be destroyed.”
