Job 18
International Standard Version
Bildad Speaks Again
18 Bildad from Shuah replied, saying:
2 “When are you going to stop your word hunt?
Think first, and then we can talk.
3 Why do you think we’re like dumb animals?
Do you think we’re stupid?
4 You’re tearing yourself to pieces in your anger.
Will the land be abandoned because of you,
or the rock be moved from its place?”
The Wicked are Trapped
5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked is extinguished;
the flame from his fire doesn’t shine.
6 Light in his tent is dark,
and his lamp goes out above him.
7 His strong steps are restricted,
and his own advice trips him up.
8 “For he has stumbled into a net with his own feet;
he walked right into the network!
9 The trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare tightens its hold on him.
10 A rope lies hidden in the dirt;
a trap lies[a] waiting for him where he is walking.”
The Wicked Perish without Descendants
11 “He is petrified by terror that surrounds him on all sides;
they chase at his heels.
12 He is starved for strength;
and is ripe for a fall.
13 Something gnaws on his skin;
a deadly disease[b] consumes his limbs.
14 Torn from the security of his home,[c]
he is brought before the king of terrors.
15 “There’s nothing in his tent that belongs to him;
sulfur is scattered all over his dwelling place.
16 His roots wither underneath,
while his branches above are being cut off.
17 No one remembers him anywhere in the land;
no one names streets in his honor.
18 He is driven away from light to darkness,
made to wander the landscape.
19 He has no children or descendants within his own people;
and no survivors where he once lived.
20 People[d] who live west of him are appalled at his fate;[e]
those who live east of him are seized with terror.
21 Indeed, the residences of the wicked are like this;
and so are the homes of those who don’t know God.”
Job 18
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you hunt for words?
Consider, and then we will speak.
3 Why are we counted as cattle?
Why are we stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in your anger,
shall the earth be forsaken for you,
or the rock be removed out of its place?
5 “Yea, the light of the wicked is put out,
and the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
and his lamp above him is put out.
7 His strong steps are shortened
and his own schemes throw him down.
8 For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
and he walks on a pitfall.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel,
a snare lays hold of him.
10 A rope is hid for him in the ground,
a trap for him in the path.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side,
and chase him at his heels.
12 His strength is hunger-bitten,
and calamity is ready for his stumbling.
13 By disease his skin is consumed,[a]
the first-born of death consumes his limbs.
14 He is torn from the tent in which he trusted,
and is brought to the king of terrors.
15 In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
brimstone is scattered upon his habitation.
16 His roots dry up beneath,
and his branches wither above.
17 His memory perishes from the earth,
and he has no name in the street.
18 He is thrust from light into darkness,
and driven out of the world.
19 He has no offspring or descendant among his people,
and no survivor where he used to live.
20 They of the west are appalled at his day,
and horror seizes them of the east.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the ungodly,
such is the place of him who knows not God.”
Footnotes
- Job 18:13 Cn: Heb it consumes the limbs of his skin
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The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.