Job 8:1-22

Bildad’s First Speech to Job

8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:

8:2 “How long will you speak these things,

seeing that the words of your mouth

are like a great wind?

8:3 Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

8:4 If your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

8:5 But if you will look to God,

and make your supplication to the Almighty,

8:6 if you become pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself for you,

and will restore your righteous abode.

8:7 Your beginning will seem so small,

since your future will flourish.

8:8 “For inquire now of the former generation,

and pay attention to the findings

of their ancestors;

8:9 For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge,

since our days on earth are but a shadow.

8:10 Will they not instruct you and speak to you,

and bring forth words

from their understanding?

8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish without water?

8:12 While they are still beginning to flower

and not ripe for cutting,

they can wither away

faster than any grass!

8:13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless perishes,

8:14 whose trust is in something futile,

whose security is a spider’s web.

8:15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up,

he takes hold of it but it does not stand.

8:16 He is a well-watered plant in the sun,

its shoots spread over its garden.

8:17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones

and it looks for a place among stones.

8:18 If he is uprooted from his place,

then that place will disown him, saying,

‘I have never seen you!’

8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way,

and out of the earth others spring up.

8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man,

nor does he grasp the hand

of the evildoers.

8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with gladness.

8:22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”