8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,
8:2 “How long will you say these things,
And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
8:3 Does God pervert justice?
Or does ①the Almighty pervert what is right?
▷ ①Heb Shaddai
8:4 If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He turned them over to the ①power of their wrongdoing.
▷ ①Lit hand
8:5 If you will search for God
And implore the compassion of ①the Almighty,
▷ ①Heb Shaddai
8:6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now He will stir Himself for you
And restore your righteous ①estate.
▷ ①Lit place
8:7 Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your end will increase greatly.
8:8 “Please inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
8:9 For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are as a shadow.
8:10 Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?
8:11 “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
8:12 While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other ①plant.
▷ ①Lit reed
8:13 So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,
8:14 His confidence is fragile,
And his trust is a spider’s ①web.
▷ ①Lit house
8:15 He depends on his house, but it does not stand;
He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
8:16 He flourishes before the sun,
And his shoots spread out over his garden.
8:17 His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He ①grasps a house of stones.
▷ ①Heb sees
8:18 If he is ①removed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’
▷ ①Lit swallowed up
8:19 Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
8:20 Behold, God will not reject a person of integrity,
Nor will He ①help evildoers.
▷ ①Lit strengthen the hand of
8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,
And your lips with joyful shouting.
8:22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”