New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
1
Bildad from Shuhah chimed in:
2 “When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.
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"How monotonous these word games are getting! Get serious! We need to get down to business.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight?
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Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals? You look down on us as if we don't know anything.
4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?
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Why are you working yourself up like this? Do you want the world redesigned to suit you? Should reality be suspended to accommodate you?
5 “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning.
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"Here's the rule: The light of the wicked is put out. Their flame dies down and is extinguished.
6 The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp beside him goes out.
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Their house goes dark - every lamp in the place goes out.
7 The vigor of his step is weakened; his own schemes throw him down.
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Their strong strides weaken, falter; they stumble into their own traps.
8 His feet thrust him into a net; he wanders into its mesh.
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They get all tangled up in their own red tape,
9 A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast.
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Their feet are grabbed and caught, their necks in a noose.
10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path.
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They trip on ropes they've hidden, and fall into pits they've dug themselves.
11 Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step.
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Terrors come at them from all sides. They run helter-skelter.
12 Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls.
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The hungry grave is ready to gobble them up for supper,
13 It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs.
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To lay them out for a gourmet meal, a treat for ravenous Death.
14 He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.
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They are snatched from their home sweet home and marched straight to the death house.
15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.
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Their lives go up in smoke; acid rain soaks their ruins.
16 His roots dry up below and his branches wither above.
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Their roots rot and their branches wither.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land.
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They'll never again be remembered - nameless in unmarked graves.
18 He is driven from light into the realm of darkness and is banished from the world.
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They are plunged from light into darkness, banished from the world.
19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived.
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And they leave empty-handed - not one single child - nothing to show for their life on this earth.
20 People of the west are appalled at his fate; those of the east are seized with horror.
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Westerners are aghast at their fate, easterners are horrified:
21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who does not know God.”
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'Oh no! So this is what happens to perverse people. This is how the God-ignorant end up!'"
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.