1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
1And Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2“How long will you go on saying such things?
The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.
2“Until when will you speak these things, and the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
3Does God pervert judgment? Or does Shaddai pervert justice?
4When your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.
4If your sons have sinned against Him, then He has sent them into the hand of their transgression.
5But if you would earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,
5If you seek diligently for God, and ask Shaddai for favor,
6if you are pure and upright,
even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf
and restore your righteous estate.
6if you are pure and upright, surely now He will rouse Himself over you and restore the abode of your righteousness.
7Though your beginnings were modest,
your latter days will flourish.
7And your beginning was small, and your end will greatly increase.
8Please inquire of past generations
and consider the discoveries of their fathers.
8For inquire, please, of the former generation, and consider the finding of their fathers.
9For we were born yesterday and know nothing;
our days on earth are but a shadow.
9For we are of yesterday, and we do not know; indeed, our days are a shadow upon the earth.
10Will they not teach you and tell you,
and speak from their understanding?
10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and from their heart bring forth words?
11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?
11Can the papyrus rise up without a marsh? Can the reed grow without waters?
12While the shoots are still uncut,
they dry up more quickly than grass.
12It is still in its greenness—it is not cut down, and before all grass, it withers.
13Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so the hope of the godless will perish.
13So are the paths of all those forgetting God; and the hope of the godless will perish,
14His confidence is fragile;
his security is in a spider’s web.
14for whom his confidence shall be cut off, and his trust the house of a spider.
15He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he holds fast, but it does not endure.
15He leans upon his house, and it does not stand; he takes firm hold on it, and it does not arise.
16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden.
16He is lush before the face of the sun, and over his garden, his shoot goes forth;
17His roots wrap around the rock heap;
he looks for a home among the stones.
17over a rock-pile his roots are wrapped, he looks for a house of stones.
18If he is uprooted from his place,
it will disown him, saying, ‘ I never saw you.’
18If one destroys him from his place, then it will disown him: ‘I have not seen you.’
19Surely this is the joy of his way;
yet others will spring from the dust.
19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and from the dust another sprouts up.
20Behold, God does not reject the blameless,
nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
20Behold, God will not reject the blameless, and He will not strengthen the hand of those doing evil.
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with a shout of joy.
21Yet He will fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.
22Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
22Those hating you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”