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Job 8
Contemporary English Version
Job 8
Contemporary English Version
Bildad's First Speech
How Long Will You Talk?
8 Bildad from Shuah[a] said:
2 How long will you talk
and keep saying nothing?
3 Does God All-Powerful
stand in the way of justice?
4 He made your children pay
for their sins.
5 So why don't you turn to him
6 and start living right?
Then he will decide
to rescue and restore you
to your place of honor.
7 Your future will be brighter
by far than your past.
Our Ancestors Were Wise
8 (A) Our ancestors were wise,
so learn from them.
9 Our own time has been short,
like a fading shadow,
and we know very little.
10 But they will instruct you
with great understanding.
11 Papyrus reeds grow healthy
only in a swamp,
12 and if the water dries up,
they die sooner than grass.
13 Such is the hopeless future
of all who turn from God
14 and trust in something as frail
as a spider's web—
15 they take hold and fall
because it's so flimsy.
16 Sinful people are like plants
with spreading roots and plenty
of sun and water.
17 They wrap their roots tightly
around rocks.[b]
18 But once they are pulled up,
they have no more place;
19 their life slips away,[c]
and other plants grow there.
20 We know God doesn't reject
an innocent person
or help a sinner.
21 And so, he will make you happy
and give you something
to smile about.
22 But your evil enemies
will be put to shame
and disappear forever.
Job 8
New International Version
Job 8
New International Version
Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:
2 “How long will you say such things?(B)
Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?(D)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)
8 “Ask the former generation(M)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)
Job 8
International Children’s Bible
Job 8
International Children’s Bible
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are no more than a strong wind.
3 God does not twist fairness.
God All-Powerful does not make wrong what is right.
4 Your children sinned against God.
And he punished them for their sins.
5 But you should ask God for help.
Pray to God All-Powerful for mercy.
6 You must be good and honest.
Then he will start doing something for you.
And he will bring you back where you belong.
7 The place you began will seem unimportant
because your future will be so successful.
8 “Ask old people
and find out what their ancestors learned.
9 We were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are like only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you.
They will tell you what they know.
11 Papyrus plants cannot grow tall where there is no wet land.
Reeds cannot grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up more quickly than grass.
13 That is what will happen to everyone who forgets God.
The hope of the person without God will be gone.
14 What he trusts in is easily broken.
It is as easily broken as a spider’s web.
15 He leans on the spider’s web, but it breaks.
He holds on to it, but it does not hold him up.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The plant spreads its roots all through the garden.
17 It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.
And it looks for a place among the stones.
18 But the plant may be torn from its place.
Then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Then its life dries up.
And other plants grow up from the dirt in its place.
20 “Surely God does not reject innocent men.
He does not give strength to those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter.
And he will fill your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be covered in shame.
And the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
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.
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.