Job 8
Expanded Bible
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you [L continue to] say such things?
Your words are ·no more than [L a strong] wind [C he accuses Job of passion without substance].
3 God does not ·twist [pervert] justice;
·the Almighty [Shaddai] does not ·make wrong [twist; pervert] ·what is right [righteousness].
4 [L If] Your children sinned against God,
and he ·punished them for their sins [L sent them into the power of their transgression].
5 ·But [L If] you ·should ask God for help [L look for God]
and ·pray [plead] to ·the Almighty [Shaddai] for ·mercy [grace].
6 If you are ·good [pure] and ·honest [virtuous; 1:1, 8; 2:3],
he will ·stand up [L immediately rouse himself] for you
and ·bring you back [restore you] ·where you belong [to your right/righteous pasture/place/home].
7 ·Where you began will seem unimportant [L Though your start was small],
·because your future will be so successful [L your end will be exalted].
8 “Ask ·old people [L the previous generation];
·find out [reflect on] 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 [L Do papyrus plants…?] grow where there is no swamp,
·and reeds cannot [L or reeds…?] grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up quicker than grass [Ps. 37:2; 102:4, 11; 129:6].
13 That is ·what will happen to [L the path of] those who forget God;
the hope of the ·wicked [godless] will ·be gone [perish].
14 ·What they hope in is easily broken [L Their confidence is gossamer thread];
what they trust is like a spider’s web [C without substance].
15 They lean on ·the spider’s web [L its house], but it ·breaks [L does not stand].
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 [or it (the plant) dissolves on the way];
other plants grow up from the same dirt.
20 “Surely God does not reject the innocent
or ·give strength to [or grasp the hand of] those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 ·Your enemies [L Those who hate you] will be covered with shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Job 8
The Message
Bildad’s Response
Does God Mess Up?
8 1-7 Bildad from Shuhah was next to speak:
“How can you keep on talking like this?
You’re talking nonsense, and noisy nonsense at that.
Does God mess up?
Does God Almighty ever get things backward?
It’s plain that your children sinned against him—
otherwise, why would God have punished them?
Here’s what you must do—and don’t put it off any longer:
Get down on your knees before God Almighty.
If you’re as innocent and upright as you say,
it’s not too late—he’ll come running;
he’ll set everything right again, reestablish your fortunes.
Even though you’re not much right now,
you’ll end up better than ever.
To Hang Your Life from One Thin Thread
8-19 “Put the question to our ancestors,
study what they learned from their ancestors.
For we’re newcomers at this, with a lot to learn,
and not too long to learn it.
So why not let the ancients teach you, tell you what’s what,
instruct you in what they knew from experience?
Can mighty pine trees grow tall without soil?
Can luscious tomatoes flourish without water?
Blossoming flowers look beautiful before they’re cut or picked,
but without soil or water they wither more quickly than grass.
That’s what happens to all who forget God—
all their hopes come to nothing.
They hang their life from one thin thread,
they hitch their fate to a spider web.
One jiggle and the thread breaks,
one jab and the web collapses.
Or they’re like weeds springing up in the sunshine,
invading the garden,
Spreading everywhere, overtaking the flowers,
getting a foothold even in the rocks.
But when the gardener rips them out by the roots,
the garden doesn’t miss them one bit.
The sooner the godless are gone, the better;
then good plants can grow in their place.
20-22 “There’s no way that God will reject a good person,
and there is no way he’ll help a bad one.
God will let you laugh again;
you’ll raise the roof with shouts of joy,
With your enemies thoroughly discredited,
their house of cards collapsed.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson