1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and saide, 2 Howe long wilt thou talke of these things? and howe long shall the wordes of thy mouth be as a mightie winde? 3 Doeth God peruert iudgement? or doeth the Almightie subuert iustice? 4 If thy sonnes haue sinned against him, and he hath sent them into the place of their iniquitie, 5 Yet if thou wilt early seeke vnto God, and pray to the Almightie, 6 If thou be pure and vpright, then surely hee will awake vp vnto thee, and he wil make the habitation of thy righteousnesse prosperous. 7 And though thy beginning be small, yet thy latter ende shall greatly encrease. 8 Inquire therefore, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thy selfe to search of their fathers. 9 (For we are but of yesterday, and are ignorant: for our dayes vpon earth are but a shadowe) 10 Shall not they teach thee and tell thee, and vtter the wordes of their heart? 11 Can a rush grow without myre? or can ye grasse growe without water? 12 Though it were in greene and not cutte downe, yet shall it wither before any other herbe. 13 So are the paths of al that forget God, and the hypocrites hope shall perish. 14 His confidence also shalbe cut off, and his trust shalbe as the house of a spyder. 15 He shall leane vpon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall holde him fast by it, yet shall it not endure. 16 The tree is greene before the sunne, and the branches spread ouer the garden thereof. 17 The rootes thereof are wrapped about the fountaine, and are folden about ye house of stones. 18 If any plucke it from his place, and it denie, saying, I haue not seene thee, 19 Beholde, it will reioyce by this meanes, that it may growe in another molde. 20 Behold, God will not cast away an vpright man, neither will he take the wicked by the hand, 21 Till he haue filled thy mouth with laughter, and thy lippes with ioy. 22 They that hate thee, shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling of the wicked shall not remaine.
Bildad
1-2 Are you finally through with your windy speech?
3 God never twists justice;
he never fails to do what is right.
4 Your children must have sinned against God,
and so he punished them as they deserved.
5 But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
6 if you are so honest and pure,
then God will come and help you
and restore your household as your reward.
7 All the wealth you lost will be nothing
compared with what God will give you then.
8 Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;
consider the truths our ancestors learned.
9 Our life is short, we know nothing at all;
we pass like shadows across the earth.
10 But let the ancient wise people teach you;
listen to what they had to say:
11 “Reeds can't grow where there is no water;
they are never found outside a swamp.
12 If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,
while still too small to be cut and used.
13 Godless people are like those reeds;
their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
14 They trust a thread—a spider's web.
15 If they lean on a web, will it hold them up?
If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”
16 Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun,
like weeds that spread all through the garden.
17 Their roots wrap around the stones
and hold fast to every rock.
18 But then pull them up—
no one will ever know they were there.
19 Yes, that's all the joy evil people have;
others now come and take their places.
20 But God will never abandon the faithful
or ever give help to evil people.
21 He will let you laugh and shout again,
22 but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you,
and the homes of the wicked will vanish.