The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New Living Translation NLT
1 Bildad the Shuchi spoke next:
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Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
2 "How long will you go on talking like this? What you are saying is raging wind!
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“How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind.
3 Does God distort judgment? Does Shaddai pervert justice?
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Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
4 If your children sinned against him, he left them to be victims of their own offense.
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Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
5 "If you will earnestly seek God and plead for Shaddai's favor,
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But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
6 if you are pure and upright; then he will rouse himself for you and fulfill your needs.
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and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
7 Then, although your beginnings were small, your future will be very great indeed.
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And though you started with little, you will end with much.
8 "Ask the older generation, and consider what their ancestors found out;
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“Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
9 for we who were born yesterday know nothing, our days on earth are but a shadow.
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For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
10 They will teach you, they will tell you, they will say what is in their hearts:
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But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.
11 'Can papyrus grow except in a marsh? Can swamp grass flourish without water?
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“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?
12 While still green, before being cut down, it dries up faster than any other plant.
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While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
13 Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of a hypocrite will perish -
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The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.
14 his confidence is mere gossamer, his trust a spider's web.
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Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web.
15 He can lean on his house, but it won't stand; he can hold on to it, but it won't last;
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They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
16 [for its destruction will come] like the lush growth of a plant in the sun, its shoots may spread out all over its garden,
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The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
17 but meanwhile its roots cause the stone house to collapse, as it seizes hold of the rocks;
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Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
18 someone who tears it away from its place denies he has ever seen it.
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But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed!
19 Yes, this is the "joy" of the way [of the godless], and out of the dust will spring up others [like him].'
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That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
20 "Look, God will not reject a blameless man; nor will he uphold wrongdoers.
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“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
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He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist."
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Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.”
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.