Job 8
Amplified Bible
Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2
“How long will you say these things?
And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3
“Does God pervert justice?
Or does [a]the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4
“If your children have sinned against Him,
Then He has handed them over to the power of their transgression and punished them.
5
“If you would [diligently] seek God
And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,
6
Then, if you are pure and upright,
Surely now He will awaken for you
And restore your righteous place.
7
“Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your end will greatly increase.
8
“Inquire, please, of past generations,
And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.
9
“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor].
10
“Will they (the fathers) not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their hearts [the deepest part of their nature]?
11
“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes or reed grass grow without water?
12
“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].
13
“So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,
14
For his confidence is fragile and breaks,
And his trust is [like] a spider’s web.
15
“He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
He holds tightly to it, but it does not endure.
16
“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,
And his branches spread out over his garden.
17
“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.
18
“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
19
“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].
20
“Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers.
21
“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
And your lips with joyful shouting [if you are found blameless].
22
“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tents of the wicked will be no longer.”
Footnotes
- Job 8:3 Heb Shaddai.
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
King James Version
8 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2 How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;
5 If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty;
6 If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
7 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.
8 For enquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:
9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
10 Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?
11 Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water?
12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.
13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:
14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.
15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
16 He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.
17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones.
18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.
20 Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers:
21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.
22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
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.
