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Job 18
The Message
Job 18
The Message
Bildad’s Second Attack
Plunged from Light into Darkness
18 1-4 Bildad from Shuhah chimed in:
“How monotonous these word games are getting!
Get serious! We need to get down to business.
Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals?
You look down on us as if we don’t know anything.
Why are you working yourself up like this?
Do you want the world redesigned to suit you?
Should reality be suspended to accommodate you?
5-21 “Here’s the rule: The light of the wicked is put out.
Their flame dies down and is extinguished.
Their house goes dark—
every lamp in the place goes out.
Their strong strides weaken, falter;
they stumble into their own traps.
They get all tangled up
in their own red tape,
Their feet are grabbed and caught,
their necks in a noose.
They trip on ropes they’ve hidden,
and fall into pits they’ve dug themselves.
Terrors come at them from all sides.
They run dazed and confused.
The hungry grave is ready
to gobble them up for supper,
To lay them out for a gourmet meal,
a treat for ravenous Death.
They are snatched from their home sweet home
and marched straight to the death house.
Their lives go up in smoke;
acid rain soaks their ruins.
Their roots rot
and their branches wither.
They’ll never again be remembered—
nameless in unmarked graves.
They are plunged from light into darkness,
banished from the world.
And they leave empty-handed—not one single child—
nothing to show for their life on this earth.
Westerners are aghast at their fate,
easterners are horrified:
‘Oh no! So this is what happens to perverse people.
This is how the God-ignorant end up!’”
Job 18
New International Version
Job 18
New International Version
Bildad
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:
2 “When will you end these speeches?(B)
Be sensible, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle(C)
and considered stupid in your sight?(D)
4 You who tear yourself(E) to pieces in your anger,(F)
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?(G)
5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out;(H)
the flame of his fire stops burning.(I)
6 The light in his tent(J) becomes dark;(K)
the lamp beside him goes out.(L)
7 The vigor(M) of his step is weakened;(N)
his own schemes(O) throw him down.(P)
8 His feet thrust him into a net;(Q)
he wanders into its mesh.
9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare(R) holds him fast.(S)
10 A noose(T) is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap(U) lies in his path.(V)
11 Terrors(W) startle him on every side(X)
and dog(Y) his every step.
12 Calamity(Z) is hungry(AA) for him;
disaster(AB) is ready for him when he falls.(AC)
13 It eats away parts of his skin;(AD)
death’s firstborn devours his limbs.(AE)
14 He is torn from the security of his tent(AF)
and marched off to the king(AG) of terrors.(AH)
15 Fire resides[a] in his tent;(AI)
burning sulfur(AJ) is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below(AK)
and his branches wither above.(AL)
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;(AM)
he has no name(AN) in the land.(AO)
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness(AP)
and is banished(AQ) from the world.(AR)
19 He has no offspring(AS) or descendants(AT) among his people,
no survivor(AU) where once he lived.(AV)
20 People of the west are appalled(AW) at his fate;(AX)
those of the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling(AY) of an evil man;(AZ)
such is the place(BA) of one who does not know God.”(BB)
Footnotes
- Job 18:15 Or Nothing he had remains
Job 18
New King James Version
Job 18
New King James Version
Bildad: The Wicked Are Punished
18 Then (A)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long till you put an end to words?
Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.
3 Why are we counted (B)as beasts,
And regarded as stupid in your sight?
4 (C)You[a] who tear yourself in anger,
Shall the earth be forsaken for you?
Or shall the rock be removed from its place?
5 “The(D) light of the wicked indeed goes out,
And the flame of his fire does not shine.
6 The light is dark in his tent,
(E)And his lamp beside him is put out.
7 The steps of his strength are shortened,
And (F)his own counsel casts him down.
8 For (G)he is cast into a net by his own feet,
And he walks into a snare.
9 The net takes him by the heel,
And (H)a snare lays hold of him.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him in the road.
11 (I)Terrors frighten him on every side,
And drive him to his feet.
12 His strength is starved,
And (J)destruction is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin;
The firstborn of death devours his [b]limbs.
14 He is uprooted from (K)the shelter of his tent,
And they parade him before the king of terrors.
15 They dwell in his tent who are none of his;
Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.
16 (L)His roots are dried out below,
And his branch withers above.
17 (M)The memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name [c]among the renowned.
18 [d]He is driven from light into darkness,
And chased out of the world.
19 (N)He has neither son nor posterity among his people,
Nor any remaining in his dwellings.
20 Those [e]in the west are astonished (O)at his day,
As those [f]in the east are frightened.
21 Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who (P)does not know God.”
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.