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Job 8
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job 8
New American Standard Bible 1995
Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite [a]answered,
2 “How long will you say these things,
And the (A)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 “Does (B)God pervert justice?
Or does [b]the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 “(C)If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the [c]power of their transgression.
5 “If you would (D)seek God
And implore the compassion of [d]the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now (E)He would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous [e](F)estate.
7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your (G)end will increase greatly.
8 “Please (H)inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because (I)our days on earth are as a shadow.
10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?
11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
12 “While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other [f]plant.
13 “So are the paths of (J)all who forget God;
And the (K)hope of the godless will perish,
14 Whose confidence is fragile,
And whose trust a (L)spider’s [g]web.
15 “He [h]trusts in his (M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.
16 “He [i](N)thrives before the sun,
And his (O)shoots spread out over his garden.
17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He [j]grasps a house of stones.
18 “If he is [k]removed from (P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘(Q)I never saw you.’
19 “Behold, (R)this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
20 “Lo, (S)God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor (T)will He [l]support the evildoers.
21 “He will yet fill (U)your mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.
22 “Those who hate you will be (V)clothed with shame,
And the (W)tent of the wicked will be no longer.”
Job 8
New International Version
Job 8
New International Version
Bildad
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:
2 “How long will you say such things?(B)
Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?(D)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)
8 “Ask the former generation(M)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)
Job 8
New Catholic Bible
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.”
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
