| |
New Living Translation |   | |
 |
| |
| | Job 8:1 | Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
| |
| | Job 8:2 | "How long will you go on like this? Your words are a blustering wind.
| |
| | Job 8:3 | Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
| |
| | Job 8:4 | Your children obviously sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
| |
| | Job 8:5 | But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
| |
| | Job 8:6 | if you are pure and live with complete integrity, he will rise up and restore your happy home.
| |
| | Job 8:7 | And though you started with little, you will end with much.
| |
| | Job 8:8 | "Just ask the former generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
| |
| | Job 8:9 | For we were born but yesterday and know so little. Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow.
| |
| | Job 8:10 | But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations.
| |
| | Job 8:11 | "Can papyrus reeds grow where there is no marsh? Can bulrushes flourish where there is no water?
| |
| | Job 8:12 | While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither.
| |
| | Job 8:13 | Such is the fate of all who forget God. The hope of the godless comes to nothing.
| |
| | Job 8:14 | Everything they count on will collapse. They are leaning on a spiderweb.
| |
| | Job 8:15 | They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold it fast, but it will not endure.
| |
| | Job 8:16 | The godless seem so strong, like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
| |
| | Job 8:17 | Its roots grow down through a pile of rocks to hold it firm.
| |
| | Job 8:18 | But when it is uprooted, it isn't even missed!
| |
| | Job 8:19 | That is the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
| |
| | Job 8:20 | "But look! God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he make evildoers prosper.
| |
| | Job 8:21 | He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
| |
| | Job 8:22 | Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be destroyed."
| |
