11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
    Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
    they (A)wither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who (B)forget God;
    (C)the hope of (D)the godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
    and his trust is (E)a spider's web.[a]
15 He leans against his (F)house, but it does not stand;
    he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
    and his (G)shoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
    he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his (H)place,
    then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never (I)seen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
    and out of (J)the soil others will spring.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 8:14 Hebrew house

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.