Job 8
Good News Translation
8 1-2 Are you finally through with your windy speech?
3 God never twists justice;
he never fails to do what is right.
4 Your children must have sinned against God,
and so he punished them as they deserved.
5 But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
6 if you are so honest and pure,
then God will come and help you
and restore your household as your reward.
7 All the wealth you lost will be nothing
compared with what God will give you then.
8 (A)Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;
consider the truths our ancestors learned.
9 Our life is short, we know nothing at all;
we pass like shadows across the earth.
10 But let the ancient wise people teach you;
listen to what they had to say:
11 “Reeds can't grow where there is no water;
they are never found outside a swamp.
12 If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,
while still too small to be cut and used.
13 Godless people are like those reeds;
their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
14 They trust a thread—a spider's web.
15 If they lean on a web, will it hold them up?
If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”
16 Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun,
like weeds that spread all through the garden.
17 Their roots wrap around the stones
and hold fast to[a] every rock.
18 But then pull them up—
no one will ever know they were there.
19 Yes, that's all the joy evil people have;
others now come and take their places.
20 But God will never abandon the faithful
or ever give help to evil people.
21 He will let you laugh and shout again,
22 but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you,
and the homes of the wicked will vanish.
Footnotes
- Job 8:17 Probable text hold fast to; Hebrew see.
Job 8
New International Reader's Version
The First Speech of Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied,
2 “Job, how long will you talk like that?
Your words don’t have any meaning.
3 Does God ever treat people unfairly?
Does the Mighty One make what is wrong
appear to be right?
4 Your children sinned against him.
So he punished them for their sin.
5 But seek God with all your heart.
Make your appeal to the Mighty One.
6 Be pure and honest.
And he will rise up and help you now.
He’ll give you everything you had before.
7 In the past, things went well with you.
But in days to come, things will get even better.
8 “Find out what our parents taught.
Discover what those who lived before them learned.
9 After all, we were born only yesterday.
So we don’t know anything.
Our days on this earth are like a shadow that disappears.
10 Won’t your people of long ago teach you and tell you?
Won’t the things they said help you understand?
11 Can grass grow tall where there isn’t any swamp?
Can plants grow well where there isn’t any water?
12 While they are still growing and haven’t been cut,
they dry up faster than grass does.
13 The same thing happens to everyone who forgets God.
The hope of ungodly people dies out.
14 What they trust in is very weak.
What they depend on is like a spider’s web.
15 They lean on it, but it falls apart.
They hold on to it, but it gives way.
16 They are like a plant in the sunshine
that receives plenty of water.
It spreads its new growth all over the garden.
17 It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.
It tries to find places to grow among the stones.
18 But when the plant is pulled up from its spot,
that place says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 The life of that plant is sure to dry up.
But from the same soil other plants will grow.
20 “I’m sure God doesn’t turn his back on anyone who is honest.
And he doesn’t help those who do what is evil.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter.
Shouts of joy will come from your lips.
22 Your enemies will put on shame as if it were clothes.
The tents of sinful people will be gone.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
