Job 8:11-19, 15:20-35 | ESV | STEP | Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh ? Can reeds flourish where there is no water ?

Job 8:11-19

11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they ^awither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who ^bforget God;
^cthe hope of ^dthe godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
and his trust is ^ea spider’s web. ^{▼▼Hebrew house}
15 He leans against his ^ghouse, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his ^hshoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his ⁱplace,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never ^jseen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of ^kthe soil others will spring.

Job 15:20-35

20 The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
through all the ^lyears that are laid up for ^mthe ruthless.
21 ⁿDreadful sounds are in his ears;
in ^oprosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
and he is marked for the sword.
23 He ^pwanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify him;
they ^qprevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
and defies the Almighty,
26 ^rrunning ^sstubbornly against him
with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because he has ^tcovered his face with his fat
and gathered fat upon his waist
28 and has lived in desolate cities,
in houses that none should inhabit,
which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the earth; ^{▼▼Or nor will his produce bend down to the earth}
30 he will not depart from darkness;
the flame will dry up his shoots,
and by ^vthe breath of his mouth he will depart.
31 Let him not ^wtrust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
for emptiness will be his payment.
32 It will be paid in full ^xbefore his time,
and his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
34 For ^ythe company of the godless is barren,
and ^zfire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They ^aaconceive trouble and give birth to evil,
and their ^abwomb prepares deceit.”