Job 8
International Children’s Bible
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are no more than a strong wind.
3 God does not twist fairness.
God All-Powerful 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.
Pray to God All-Powerful for mercy.
6 You must be good and honest.
Then he will start doing something for you.
And he will bring you back where you belong.
7 The place you began will seem unimportant
because your future will be so successful.
8 “Ask old people
and find out what their ancestors learned.
9 We were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are like only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you.
They will tell you what they know.
11 Papyrus plants cannot grow tall where there is no wet land.
Reeds cannot grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up more quickly than grass.
13 That is what will happen to everyone who forgets God.
The hope of the person without God will be gone.
14 What he trusts in is easily broken.
It is as easily broken as a spider’s web.
15 He leans on the spider’s web, but it breaks.
He holds on to it, but it does not hold him up.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The plant spreads its roots all through the garden.
17 It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.
And it looks for a place among the stones.
18 But the plant may be torn from its place.
Then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Then its life dries up.
And other plants grow up from the dirt in its place.
20 “Surely God does not reject innocent men.
He does not give strength to those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter.
And he will fill your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be covered in shame.
And the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Job 8
New Catholic Bible
Bildad’s First Speech[a]
Chapter 8
Does God Pervert Justice?[b] 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
2 “How long will you say such things?
The words of your mouth are like a turbulent wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty distort the truth?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the power of their transgressions.
5 “If you yourself will now seek God
as one who is pure and upright
and make supplication to the Almighty,
6 then he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore the prosperity of your house.
7 Your former state will seem inconsequential
in the light of your future prosperity.
Inquire Now of Former Generations
8 “Inquire now of former generations
and reflect on what their ancestors came to realize.
9 For we are only born yesterday and know nothing,
since our days on earth are but a shadow.[c]
10 Will they not instruct you and tell you,
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can a papyrus flourish where there is no marsh?
Can reeds grow without water?
12 While yet green and not cut down,
they wither more quickly than any plant.
13 Such is the fate of all those who forget God;
thus the hope of the godless man will perish.
14 His confidence is only a thread,
his trust a spider’s web.
15 If he leans against his house, it will begin to totter;
if he clings to it, it will not endure.
16 “At dawn he seems quite strong and virile,
like a plant whose young roots spread out over the garden.
17 His roots are entwined around a pile of stones;
he draws his strength from among the rocks.
18 But if someone uproots him from his place,
it will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
19 There he lies, rotting along the roadside,[d]
and others will sprout forth from the soil.
20 “Be assured, God will not reject a blameless person,
nor will he grasp the hand of the wrongdoer.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with joyful cries.
22 Those who hate you will be covered with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
Footnotes
- Job 8:1 In defense of the views commonly accepted by wise men, Eliphaz had appealed to a personal revelation. Bildad will rely mainly on the tradition of the ancients.
- Job 8:1 God is just. Bildad recalls this truth and draws from it an unexpected explanation of his friend’s misfortunes: could they be a punishment for the evil conduct of his children?
- Job 8:9 Our days . . . are but a shadow: this is a frequent theme in the Wisdom Books (see Job 14:2; 1 Chr 29:15; Pss 102:12; 144:4; Eccl 6:12; 8:13).
- Job 8:19 There he lies, rotting along the roadside: the meaning of the Hebrew is unclear. The Vulgate reading is: “This is the joy of his way.”
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.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
