Beginning
Bildad Speaks to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are no more than a strong wind.
3 God does not twist fairness.
God All-Powerful does not make wrong what is right.
4 Your children sinned against God.
And he punished them for their sins.
5 But you should ask God for help.
Pray to God All-Powerful for mercy.
6 You must be good and honest.
Then he will start doing something for you.
And he will bring you back where you belong.
7 The place you began will seem unimportant
because your future will be so successful.
8 “Ask old people
and find out what their ancestors learned.
9 We were only born yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are like only a shadow.
10 Those people will teach you and tell you.
They will tell you what they know.
11 Papyrus plants cannot grow tall where there is no wet land.
Reeds cannot grow tall without water.
12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,
they will dry up more quickly than grass.
13 That is what will happen to everyone who forgets God.
The hope of the person without God will be gone.
14 What he trusts in is easily broken.
It is as easily broken as a spider’s web.
15 He leans on the spider’s web, but it breaks.
He holds on to it, but it does not hold him up.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The plant spreads its roots all through the garden.
17 It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.
And it looks for a place among the stones.
18 But the plant may be torn from its place.
Then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Then its life dries up.
And other plants grow up from the dirt in its place.
20 “Surely God does not reject innocent men.
He does not give strength to those who do evil.
21 God will yet fill your mouth with laughter.
And he will fill your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Your enemies will be covered in shame.
And the tents of the wicked will be gone.”
Job Answers Bildad
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Yes, I know that this is true.
But how can man be right in the presence of God?
3 A person might want to argue with God.
But he could not answer God one time out of a thousand.
4 God’s wisdom is deep, and his power is great.
No one can fight God without being hurt.
5 God moves mountains without anyone knowing it.
He turns mountains over when he is angry.
6 God shakes the earth out of its place.
And he makes the earth’s foundations shake.
7 God commands the sun not to shine.
He shuts off the light of the stars.
8 God alone stretches out the skies.
And he walks on the waves of the sea.
9 It is God who made the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades[a]
and the groups of stars in the southern sky.
10 God does wonderful things that people cannot understand.
He does so many miracles they cannot be counted.
11 When he passes me, I cannot see him.
When he goes by me, I cannot recognize him.
12 If God snatches something away, no one can stop him.
No one can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not hold back his anger.
Even the helpers of the monster Rahab lie at God’s feet in fear.
14 So how can I argue with God?
I cannot find words to argue with him.
15 Even if I was right, I could not answer him.
I could only beg God, my Judge, for mercy.
16 I might call to him. But even if he answered,
I still would not believe he would listen to me.
17 God would crush me with a storm.
He would multiply my hurts for no reason.
18 He would not let me catch my breath.
He would overwhelm me with misery.
19 When it comes to strength, God is stronger than I.
And when it comes to justice, no one can accuse him!
20 Even if I were right, my own mouth would say I was wrong.
If I were innocent, my mouth would say I was guilty.
21 “I am innocent.
But I don’t think about myself.
I hate my own life.
22 It is all the same. That is why I say,
‘God destroys both the innocent and the evil people.’
23 A whip may bring sudden death.
And God will laugh when good people suffer.
24 When land falls into the hands of evil people,
God covers the judges’ faces so they can’t see it.
If it is not God who does this, then who is it?
25 “My days go by faster than a runner.
They fly away without my seeing even a little joy.
26 They glide past like boats made of papyrus plants.
My days are like eagles that swoop down on animals they attack.
27 I might say, ‘I will forget my complaint.
I will change the look on my face, and smile.’
28 But I will still dread all my suffering.
I know you will hold me guilty.
29 I have already been found guilty.
So why should I struggle for no reason?
30 I might wash myself with soap.
And I might even wash my hands with strong soap.
31 But you would push me into a dirty pit.
And even my clothes would hate me.
32 “God is not a man like me. So I cannot answer him.
We cannot meet each other in court.
33 I wish there was someone to make peace between us.
I wish someone could decide our case.
34 I wish someone could remove God’s punishment from me.
Then his terror would not frighten me anymore.
35 Then I could speak up without being afraid of God.
But I am not able to do that.
10 “I hate my own life.
So I will complain without holding back.
And I will speak because I am so unhappy.
2 I will say to God: Do not hold me guilty.
But tell me what you have against me.
3 Does it make you happy to trouble me?
Don’t you care about me, the work of your own hands?
Are you happy with the plans of evil people?
4 Do you have human eyes?
Do you see as a man sees?
5 Are your days like the days of man?
Are your years like the years of a man?
6 You look for evil I have done
and search for my sin.
7 But you know I am not guilty.
And you know no one can save me from your power.
8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.
But now you turn around and destroy me.
9 Remember that you molded me like a piece of clay.
Now will you turn me back into dust?
10 You formed me in my mother’s womb
as cheese is formed from milk.
11 You put skin and flesh on me like clothing.
You sewed me together with bones and muscles.
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness.
And in your care you watched over my life.
13 “But in your heart you hid other plans.
I know this is what was in your mind:
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me.
You would not let my sin go unpunished.
15 How terrible it will be for me if I am guilty!
But even if I am right, I cannot lift my head.
I am full of shame.
It is as if I am drowning in my pain.
16 If I hold up my head, you hunt me like a lion.
And again you show your terrible power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me.
You increase your anger against me.
Your armies come against me like waves of the sea.
18 “So why did you allow me to be born?
I wish I had died before anyone saw me.
19 I wish I had never been born.
Or I wish I had been carried straight from birth to the grave!
20 My few days of life are almost over.
Leave me alone so I can have a moment of joy.
21 Soon I will leave and not return.
I will go to the land of darkness and gloom.
22 It is the land of darkest night.
It is the land of gloom and confusion.
Even the light is darkness there.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.