Job 8  Holman Christian Standard Bible

² How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words^(A) are a blast of wind.^(B)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(C)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(D)
4 Since your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.
⁵ But if you earnestly seek^(E) God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,^(F)
6 if you are pure and upright,
then He will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.^(G)
7 Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
your final days will be full of prosperity.^(H)

⁸ For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,^(I)
9 since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.^(J)
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?
¹¹ Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?
¹² While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.
¹³ Such is the destiny^[a] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless^(K) will perish.
¹⁴ His source of confidence is fragile;^[b]
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.^(L)
15 He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.
¹⁶ He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.
¹⁸ If he is uprooted^[c] from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”^(M)
19 Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.
²⁰ Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and He will not support evildoers.^(N)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a shout of joy.^(O)
22 Your enemies will be clothed with shame;^(P)
the tent^(Q) of the wicked will exist no longer.