Job 8

Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

2 “How long will you say these things,
And the ^awords of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 “Does ^bGod pervert justice?
Or does ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 “ ^dIf your sons sinned against Him,
Then He turned them over to the ^{▼▼Lit hand}power of their wrongdoing.
5 “If you will ^fsearch for God
And implore the compassion of ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now ^hHe will stir Himself for you
And restore your righteous ^{▼▼Lit place
,} ^jestate.
7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your ^kend will increase greatly.

8 “Please ^linquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^mour days on earth are as a shadow.
10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?

11 “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
12 “While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other ^{▼▼Lit reed}plant.
13 “So are the paths of ^oall who forget God;
And the ^phope of the godless will perish,
14 His confidence is fragile,
And his trust is a ^qspider’s ^{▼▼Lit house}web.
15 “He depends on his ^shouse, but it does not stand;
He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
16 “He ^tflourishes before the sun,
And his ^ushoots spread out over his garden.
17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He ^{▼▼Heb sees}grasps a house of stones.
18 “If he is ^{▼▼Lit swallowed up}removed from ^xhis place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘ ^yI never saw you.’
19 “Behold, ^zthis is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
20 “Behold, ^aaGod will not reject a person of integrity,
Nor ^abwill He ^{▼▼Lit strengthen the hand of}help evildoers.
21 “He will yet fill ^adyour mouth with laughter,
And your lips with joyful shouting.
22 “Those who hate you will be ^aeclothed with shame,
And the ^aftent of the wicked will no longer exist.”