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.
Job 8
New King James Version
Bildad: Job Should Repent
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you speak these things,
And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 (A)Does God subvert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If (B)your sons have sinned against Him,
He has cast them away [a]for their transgression.
5 (C)If you would earnestly seek God
And make your supplication to the Almighty,
6 If you were pure and upright,
Surely now He would [b]awake for you,
And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
7 Though your beginning was small,
Yet your latter end would (D)increase abundantly.
8 “For(E) inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
9 For (F)we were born yesterday, and know [c]nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?
11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reeds flourish without water?
12 (G)While it is yet green and not cut down,
It withers before any other plant.
13 So are the paths of all who (H)forget God;
And the hope of the (I)hypocrite shall perish,
14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,
And whose trust is [d]a spider’s web.
15 (J)He leans on his house, but it does not stand.
He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
16 He grows green in the sun,
And his branches spread out in his garden.
17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,
And look for a place in the stones.
18 (K)If he is destroyed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way,
And (L)out of the earth others will grow.
20 Behold, (M)God will not [e]cast away the blameless,
Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,
And your lips with [f]rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be (N)clothed with shame,
And the dwelling place of the wicked [g]will come to nothing.”
Job 8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 1 Bildad showeth that Job is a sinner, because that God punisheth the wicked, and preserveth the good.
1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,
2 How long wilt thou talk of these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth [a]be as a mighty wind?
3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty subvert justice?
4 If thy sons have sinned against him, and he hath sent them into the place of their [b]iniquity,
5 Yet if thou [c]wilt early seek unto God, and pray to the Almighty,
6 If thou be pure and upright, then surely he will awake up unto thee, and he will make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
7 And though thy beginning [d]be small, yet thy latter end shall greatly increase.
8 [e]Inquire therefore, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to search of their fathers.
9 (For we are but [f]of yesterday, and are ignorant: for our days upon earth are but a shadow)
10 Shall not they teach thee and tell thee, and utter the words of their heart?
11 Can a rush [g]grow without mire? or can the grass grow without water?
12 Though it were in green and not cut down, yet shall it wither before any other herb.
13 So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.
14 His confidence also shall be cut off, and his trust shall be as the house of a [h]spider.
15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold him fast by it, yet shall it not endure.
16 The [i]tree is green before the Sun, and the branches spread over the garden thereof.
17 The roots thereof are wrapped about the fountain, and are folded about the house of stones.
18 If any pluck it from his place, and it [j]deny, saying, I have not seen thee,
19 Behold, it will rejoice [k]by this means, that it may grow in another mold.
20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man, neither will he take the wicked by the hand,
21 Till he have filled thy mouth with [l]laughter, and thy lips with joy.
22 They that hate thee, shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling of the wicked shall not remain.
Footnotes
- Job 8:2 He declareth that their words which would diminish anything from the justice of God, is but as a puff of wind that vanisheth away.
- Job 8:4 That is, hath rewarded them according to their iniquity: meaning, that Job ought to be warned by the example of his children, that he offend not God.
- Job 8:5 That is, if thou turn betime while God calleth thee to repentance.
- Job 8:7 Though the beginnings be not so pleasant as thou wouldest desire, yet in the end thou shalt have sufficient occasion to content thyself.
- Job 8:8 He willeth Job to examine all antiquity, and he shall find it true which he here saith.
- Job 8:9 Meaning, that it is not enough to have the experience of ourselves, but to be confirmed by the examples of them that went before us.
- Job 8:11 As a rush cannot grow without moistness, so cannot the hypocrite, because he hath not faith, which is moistened with God’s Spirit.
- Job 8:14 Which is today, and tomorrow swept away.
- Job 8:16 He compareth the just to a tree, which although it be removed out of one place unto another, yet flourisheth: so the affliction of the godly turneth to their profit.
- Job 8:18 That is, so that there remain nothing there to prove whether the tree had grown there or no.
- Job 8:19 To be planted in another place, where it may grow at pleasure.
- Job 8:21 If thou be godly, he will give thee occasion to rejoice, and if not, thine affliction shall increase.
Job 8
Names of God Bible
Bildad Speaks: You Are Unjustly Accusing God of Doing Evil, Job
8 Then Bildad from Shuah replied to Job,
2 “How long will you say these things?
How long will your words be so windy?
3 Does El distort justice,
or does Shadday distort righteousness?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.
5 If you search for El
and plead for mercy from Shadday,
6 if you are moral and ethical,
then he will rise up on your behalf
and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.[a]
7 Then what you had in the past will seem small
compared with the great prosperity you’ll have in the future.
Learn from Past Generations
8 “Ask the people of past generations.
Find out what their ancestors had learned.
9 We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
10 Won’t their words teach you?
Won’t they share their thoughts with you?
God Does Not Punish the Innocent Person
11 “Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp?
Can rushes grow tall without water?
12 Even if they were fresh and not cut,
they would wither quicker than grass.
13 The same thing happens to all who forget El.
The hope of the godless dies.
14 His confidence is easily shattered.
His trust is a spider’s web.
15 If one leans on his house, it collapses.
If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The shoots spread over his garden.
17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones.
They cling to a stone house.
18 But when it is uprooted from its place,
the ground denies it and says, ‘I never saw you!’
19 That is its joy in this life,
and others sprout from the same ground to take its place.
20 “Certainly, El does not reject a person of integrity
or give a helping hand to wicked people.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with happy shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
Footnotes
- Job 8:6 English equivalent of this line difficult.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.