Job 8
New Life Version
Bildad Talks
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, 2 “How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a strong wind? 3 Does God make wrong what is fair? Does the All-powerful make wrong what is right? 4 If your children have sinned against Him, He has given them over to the power of their sin. 5 If you will look for God and pray to the All-powerful, 6 if you are pure and right and good, for sure He will help you. Because you are right and good He will put you back where you should be. 7 And even if your beginning was small, your end will be very great.
8 “Ask about those who have lived before. Think about what their fathers learned. 9 For we are only of yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as a shadow. 10 Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak words of wisdom?
11 “Can the tall river grass grow up from dry ground? Can the grass that grows in wet places grow without water? 12 While it is still green and not cut, it becomes dry and dead before any other plant. 13 So are the ways of all who forget God. The hope of the man without God is destroyed. 14 What he trusts in is easy to break, like the home of a spider. 15 The spider trusts in his house, but it falls apart. He holds on to it, but it does not hold. 16 He is full of strength in the sunshine, and his branches spread out over his garden. 17 His roots grow around rocks and they work their way among the stones. 18 If he is taken from his place, then it will turn away from him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ 19 See, this is the joy of His way. And out of the dust others will come. 20 See, God will not turn away from a man who is honest and faithful. And He will not help those who do wrong. 21 He will yet make you laugh and call out with joy. 22 Those who hate you will be dressed with shame. And the tent of the sinful will be no more.”
Job 8
New International Version
Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:
2 “How long will you say such things?(B)
Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?(D)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)
8 “Ask the former generation(M)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)
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