Job 8
English Standard Version
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
8 Then (A)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a (B)great wind?
3 (C)Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
4 If your (D)children have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
5 If you will seek God
and (E)plead with the Almighty for mercy,
6 if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will (F)rouse himself for you
and (G)restore your rightful habitation.
7 And though your beginning was small,
(H)your latter days will be very great.
8 “For (I)inquire, please, of bygone ages,
and consider what (J)the fathers have searched out.
9 For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
for our days on earth are (K)a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they (L)wither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who (M)forget God;
(N)the hope of (O)the godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
and his trust is (P)a spider's web.[a]
15 He leans against his (Q)house, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his (R)shoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his (S)place,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never (T)seen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of (U)the soil others will spring.
20 “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
nor take the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet (V)fill your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be (W)clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Footnotes
- Job 8:14 Hebrew house
Job 8
Easy-to-Read Version
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
2 “How long will you talk like that?
Your words are nothing but hot air!
3 God is always fair.
God All-Powerful does what is right.
4 If your children sinned against God, he punished them.
They paid for their sins.
5 But now, look to God
and pray to the All-Powerful.
6 If you are pure and good,
he will quickly come to help you.
He will give your family back to you.
7 Then you will have a lot more
than you had in the beginning!
8 “Ask those who are now old.
Find out what their ancestors learned.
9 It seems as though we were born yesterday.
We are too young to know anything.
Our days on earth are very short, like a shadow.
10 Maybe the old people can tell you something.
Maybe they will teach you what they learned.
11 “Can papyrus grow tall on a dry land?
Can reeds grow without water?
12 No, they will dry up before harvest.
They will be too small to cut and use.
13 People who forget God are like that.
Those who oppose him have no hope.
14 They have put their trust in something weak.
It is like a spider’s web.
15 When they lean against it,
it will break.
When they reach out for it,
it will not hold them up.
16 Such people are like a vine that gets plenty of water and sunshine,
and its branches spread throughout the garden.
17 Its roots spread among the rocks,
searching for good soil.
18 But if you move it, it will die,
and no one can tell it was ever there.
19 Everything might have been going well,
but another vine will take its place.
20 God does not support evil people,
and he does not abandon the innocent.
21 So perhaps you might laugh again.
Maybe shouts of joy will come from your lips.
22 Maybe your enemies will be humiliated
and the homes of the wicked destroyed.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International