Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 25

Bildad’s Third Speech. [a]Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

Dominion and dread are his
    who brings about harmony in his heavens.
Is there any numbering of his troops?[b]
    Yet on which of them does his light not rise?
How can anyone be in the right against God,(A)
    or how can any born of woman be innocent?
Even the moon is not bright
    and the stars are not clean in his eyes.
How much less a human being, who is but a worm,
    a mortal, who is only a maggot?(B)

Footnotes

  1. 25:1 At this point any structure in the dialogues disappears. Bildad’s speech is very short, and there follow two speeches attributed to Job, with significantly different introductions in 27:1 and 29:1, and with no intervening third speech of Zophar.
  2. 25:3 His troops: the heavenly host, or army, the stars (cf. Jgs 5:20), later understood as angels.

Bildad’s Third Speech

25 Then[a] Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,[b]

“Domination and dread are with him
who makes peace in his high heavens.
Is there a number to his troops?
And upon whom does his light not rise?
“Indeed,[c] how can a human being be righteous before God?
And how will he who is born of a woman be pure?
Look, even the moon is not bright,[d]
and the stars are not pure in his sight.
How much less[e] for a human being who is a maggot,
and a human[f] who is a worm?”

Footnotes

  1. Job 25:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 25:1 Hebrew “he said”
  3. Job 25:4 Hebrew “And”
  4. Job 25:5 Literally “and it is not bright”
  5. Job 25:6 Literally “Also”
  6. Job 25:6 Literally “a son of man,” or “a son of Adam”