Add parallel Print Page Options

Then answered Bildad the Shuchi, and said,

How long wilt thou speak these things? And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a raging ruach (wind)?

Doth El pervert mishpat (justice)? Or doth Shaddai pervert tzedek?

If thy banim have sinned against Him, and He have cast them away for their peysha (transgression);

If thou wouldest seek El (G-d) earnestly, and make thy techinnah (supplication) to Shaddai;

If thou wert pure and yashar; surely now He would rouse Himself for thee, and restore the habitation of thy tzedek.

Though thy reshit (beginning) was small, yet thy acharit (end) shall be exceedingly great.

For inquire, now, of the dor rishon (former age), and consider the research of their avot;

—For we are but of temol (yesterday, etmol) and know nothing, because yameinu (our days) upon earth are a tzel (shadow)—

10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and bring forth words out of their lev?

11 Can the papyrus grow up without marsh? Can the reed grow without mayim?

12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before kol khatzir (all grass).

13 So are the paths of all that forget El (G-d), and the tikvat chanef (hope of the hypocrite, the irreligious, the secretly wicked profane person) shall perish,

14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose reliance shall be a bais akavish (spider’s web).

15 He shall lean upon his bais, but it shall not stand, he shall cling to it, but it shall not hold.

16 He is like a green plant before the shemesh, and its branch shooteth forth in its gan (garden).

17 Its shorashim (roots) are wrapped about the rock heap, and it looks on the bais avanim (place of stones).

18 But when cast away from its makom, then its place shall deny it, saying, Loh re’iticha (I never saw thee).

19 Behold, thus was the joy of its derech, and others spring forth from the aphar (dust).

20 Surely El (G-d) will not cast away a blameless man, neither will He help the resha’im (evil-doers);

21 Till He fill thy mouth with sechok (laughter), and thy lips with teruah (shouts of joy).

22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with bushah (shame), and the ohel resha’im shall be no more.

Bildad

Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:

“How long will you say such things?(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
Does God pervert justice?(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)

“Ask the former generation(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
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)

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(AK)
    and the tents(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”(AM)

Footnotes

  1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that