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

Examples from nature

11 Does papyrus grow apart from a marsh?
    Does a reed flourish without water?
12         While still tender, uncut,
        it will wither before every other grass.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God.
    Hope perishes for the godless,
14     whose confidence is a fragile thing,[a]
        their trust, a spider’s web.
15 He leans on its web, and it doesn’t stand;
    grasps it, and it can’t remain in place.
16 It’s like a well-watered plant in the sun;
    its runners spread over its gardens.
17 Its roots are entwined over a pile of rocks,
    for it sees a home among stones.
18 If it’s uprooted from its place,
    it lies, saying, “I can’t see you.”
19 Surely its way is a joy,
    for from the dust other plants[b] sprout.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 8:14 Heb uncertain
  2. Job 8:19 Heb lacks plants.