8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
8:2 “How long will you speak these things, 2
seeing 3 that the words of your mouth
are like a great 4 wind? 5
8:3 Does God pervert 6 justice? 7
Or does the Almighty pervert 8 what is right?
8:4 If 9 your children sinned against him,
he gave them over 10 to the penalty 11 of their sin.
8:5 But 12 if you will look 13 to God,
and make your supplication 14 to the Almighty,
8:6 if you become 15 pure 16 and upright, 17
even now he will rouse himself 18 for you,
and will restore 19 your righteous abode. 20
8:7 Your beginning 21 will seem so small,
since your future will flourish. 22
8:8 “For inquire now of the former 23 generation,
and pay attention 24 to the findings 25
of their ancestors; 26
8:9 For we were born yesterday 27 and do not have knowledge,
since our days on earth are but a shadow. 28
8:10 Will they not 29 instruct you and 30 speak to you,
and bring forth words 31
from their understanding? 32
8:11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall 33 where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish 34 without water?
8:12 While they are still beginning to flower 35
and not ripe for cutting, 36
they can wither away 37
faster 38 than any grass! 39
8:13 Such is the destiny 40 of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless 41 perishes,
8:14 whose 42 trust 43 is in something futile, 44
whose security is a spider’s web. 45
8:15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up, 46
he takes hold 47 of it but it does not stand.
8:16 He is a well-watered plant 48 in 49 the sun,
its shoots spread 50 over its garden. 51
8:17 It wraps its roots around a heap 52 of stones 53
and it looks 54 for a place among stones. 55
8:18 If he is uprooted 56 from his place,
then that place 57 will disown him, saying, 58
‘I have never seen you!’
8:19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way, 59
and out of the earth 60 others spring up. 61
8:20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, 62
nor does he grasp the hand 63
of the evildoers.
8:21 He will yet 64 fill your mouth with laughter, 65
and your lips with gladness.
8:22 Those who hate you 66 will be clothed with shame, 67
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”