Bildad Speaks

1Then Bildad the Shuhite a replied:

2How long until you stop talking?

Show some sense, and then we can talk.

3Why are we regarded as cattle,

as stupid in your sight?

4You who tear yourself in anger b —

should the earth be abandoned on your account,

or a rock be removed from its place?

5Yes, the light c of the wicked d is extinguished;

the flame of his fire does not glow.

6The light in his tent grows dark, e

and the lamp beside him is put out.

7His powerful stride is shortened,

and his own schemes trip him up. f

8For his own feet lead him into a net,

and he strays into its mesh.

9A trap catches him by the heel;

a noose seizes him.

10A rope lies hidden for him on the ground,

and a snare waits for him along the path.

11Terrors frighten him on every side g

and harass him at every step.

12His strength is depleted;

disaster lies ready for him to stumble. h

13Parts of his skin are eaten away;

death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.

14He is ripped from the security of his tent

and marched away to the king of terrors.

15Nothing he owned remains in his tent.

Burning sulfur i is scattered over his home.

16His roots below dry up,

and his branches above wither away. j

17All memory k of him perishes from the earth;

he has no name anywhere. l

18He is driven from light to darkness

and chased from the inhabited world.

19He has no children or descendants among his people,

no survivor where he used to live. m

20Those in the west are appalled n at his fate,

while those in the east tremble in horror.

21Indeed, such is the dwelling of the unjust man,

and this is the place of the one who does not know God. o