< Job 8 >
1 respondens autem Baldad Suites dixit
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 usquequo loqueris talia et spiritus multiplex sermones oris tui
“How long will you say these things? How long will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 numquid Deus subplantat iudicium et Omnipotens subvertit quod iustum est
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4 etiam si filii tui peccaverunt ei et dimisit eos in manu iniquitatis suae
Your children have sinned against him; we know this, for he gave them into the hand of their sins.
5 tu tamen si diluculo consurrexeris ad Deum et Omnipotentem fueris deprecatus
But suppose you diligently sought God and presented your request to the Almighty.
6 si mundus et rectus incesseris statim evigilabit ad te et pacatum reddet habitaculum iustitiae tuae
If you are pure and upright, then he would surely stir himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.
7 in tantum ut priora tua fuerint parva et novissima tua multiplicentur nimis
Even though your beginning was small, still your final condition would be much greater.
8 interroga enim generationem pristinam et diligenter investiga patrum memoriam
Please ask the former generations, and give your attention to what our ancestors learned.
9 hesterni quippe sumus et ignoramus quoniam sicut umbra dies nostri sunt super terram
(We were only born yesterday and know nothing because our days on earth are a shadow).
10 et ipsi docebunt te loquentur tibi et de corde suo proferent eloquia
Will they not teach you and tell you? Will they not speak words from their hearts?
11 numquid vivere potest scirpus absque humore aut crescet carectum sine aqua
Can papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 cum adhuc sit in flore nec carpatur manu ante omnes herbas arescit
While they are still green and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
13 sic viae omnium qui obliviscuntur Deum et spes hypocritae peribit
So also are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14 non ei placebit vecordia sua et sicut tela aranearum fiducia eius
His confidence will break apart, and his trust is as weak as a spider's web.
15 innitetur super domum suam et non stabit fulciet eam et non consurget
He leans on his house, but it will not support him; he takes hold of it, but it does not stand.
16 humectus videtur antequam veniat sol et in horto suo germen eius egreditur
Under the sun he is green, and his shoots go out over his entire garden.
17 super acervum petrarum radices eius densabuntur et inter lapides commorabitur
His roots are wrapped about the heaps of stone; they look for good places among the rocks.
18 si absorbuerit eum de loco suo negabit eum et dicet non novi te
But if this person is destroyed out of his place, then that place will deny him and say, 'I never saw you.'
19 haec est enim laetitia viae eius ut rursum de terra alii germinentur
See, this is the “joy” of such a person's behavior; other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place.
20 Deus non proiciet simplicem nec porriget manum malignis
See, God will not cast away an innocent man; neither will he take the hand of evildoers.
21 donec impleatur risu os tuum et labia tua iubilo
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
22 qui oderunt te induentur confusione et tabernaculum impiorum non subsistet
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will be no more.”