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
New Century Version
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are no more than wind.
3 God does not twist justice;
the Almighty 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
and pray to the Almighty for mercy.
6 If you are good and honest,
he will stand up for you
and bring you back where you belong.
7 Where you began will seem unimportant,
because your future will be so successful.
8 “Ask old people;
find out what their ancestors learned,
9 because we were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you
and speak about what they know.
11 Papyrus plants cannot grow where there is no swamp,
and reeds cannot grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up quicker than grass.
13 That is what will happen to those who forget God;
the hope of the wicked will be gone.
14 What they hope in is easily broken;
what they trust is like a spider’s web.
15 They lean on the spider’s web, but it breaks.
They grab it, but it does not hold up.
16 They are like well-watered plants in the sunshine
that spread their roots all through the garden.
17 They wrap their roots around a pile of rocks
and look for a place among the stones.
18 But if a plant is torn from its place,
then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Now joy has gone away;
other plants grow up from the same dirt.
20 “Surely God does not reject the innocent
or give strength to those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be covered with shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
