| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job: |
| 2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. | 2“How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind. |
| 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? | 3Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right? |
| 4Since your children sinned against him, he gave them over to their rebellion. | 4Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved. |
| 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, |
| 6if you are pure and upright, then he will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. | 6and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. |
| 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity. | 7And though you started with little, you will end with much. |
| 8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their fathers discovered, | 8“Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors. |
| 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. | 9For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow. |
| 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? | 10But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old. |
| 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? | 11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water? |
| 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. | 12While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass. |
| 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish. | 13The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate. |
| 14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider's web. | 14Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web. |
| 15He leans on his web, but it doesn't stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. | 15They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure. |
| 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. | 16The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden. |
| 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. | 17Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks. |
| 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, "I never saw you." | 18But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed! |
| 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. | 19That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it. |
| 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and he will not support evildoers. | 20“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked. |
| 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. | 21He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. |
| 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will no longer exist. | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed.” |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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