GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 Then Bildad from Shuah replied [to Job],
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Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 "How long will you say these things? How long will your words be so windy?
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"How long will you speak these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Does God distort justice, or does the Almighty distort righteousness?
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Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If your children sinned against him, he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.
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If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression.
5 If you search for God and plead for mercy from the Almighty,
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If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty,
6 if you are moral and ethical, then he will rise up on your behalf and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.
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If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place.
7 Then what you had in the past will seem small compared with the great prosperity you'll have in the future.
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Though your beginning was small, Yet your latter end would increase abundantly.
8 "Ask the people of past generations. Find out what their ancestors had learned.
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"For inquire, please, of the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
9 We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing. Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
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For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Won't their words teach you? Won't they share their thoughts with you?
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Will they not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their heart?
11 "Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp? Can rushes grow tall without water?
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"Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water?
12 Even if they were fresh and not cut, they would wither quicker than grass.
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While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant.
13 The same thing happens to all who forget God. The hope of the godless dies.
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So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,
14 His confidence is easily shattered. His trust is a spider's web.
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Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider's web.
15 If one leans on his house, it collapses. If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.
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He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine. The shoots spread over his garden.
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He grows green in the sun, And his branches spread out in his garden.
17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones. They cling to a stone house.
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His roots wrap around the rock heap, And look for a place in the stones.
18 But when it is uprooted from its place, [the ground] denies it [and says], 'I never saw you!'
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If he is destroyed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, 'I have not seen you.'
19 That is its joy in this life, and others sprout from the same ground to [take its place].
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"Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow.
20 "Certainly, God does not reject a person of integrity or give a helping hand to wicked people.
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Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with happy shouting.
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He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.
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 dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing."