11 Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?
12 While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.
13 Such is the destiny[a] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless(A) will perish.

14 His source of confidence is fragile;[b]
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.(B)
15 He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.
16 He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.
17 His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.
18 If he is uprooted[c] from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”(C)
19 Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:13 Lit Such are the ways
  2. 8:14 Or cut off; Hb obscure
  3. 8:18 Or destroyed

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(A)
    Can reeds(B) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.(C)
13 Such is the destiny(D) of all who forget God;(E)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.(F)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.(G)
15 They lean on the web,(H) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.(I)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots(J) over the garden;(K)
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(L) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(M)
19 Surely its life withers(N) away,
    and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that