1 Then in response, Bildad from Shuah said: ISV — Job 8:1
2 “How long will you keep talking like this? How long will you keep talking like a wind storm? ISV — Job 8:2
3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what’s right? ISV — Job 8:3
4 “If your children sin against him, he’ll make them a prisoner a8:4 Lit. he’ll place them into the hand of their sins. ISV — Job 8:4
5 If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy, ISV — Job 8:5
6 if you are clean and upright, surely then, he’ll act on your behalf and restore your rightful b8:6 Lit. and bring peace to your righteous place. ISV — Job 8:6
7 Your beginning may be small, but later years c8:7 Lit. days will be very great. ISV — Job 8:7
8 “Inquire of the previous generation, won’t you please? Consider what their forefathers searched out. ISV — Job 8:8
9 Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow. ISV — Job 8:9
10 Won’t they instruct you, and tell you, and bring out words from the heart? ISV — Job 8:10
11 “Can papyrus grow where there’s no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? ISV — Job 8:11
12 While they are still green and not yet ready to be harvested, they wither before any plant. ISV — Job 8:12
13 Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God— the hope of the godless will be destroyed: ISV — Job 8:13
14 his confidence is shattered; his trust is in a spider’s web. ISV — Job 8:14
15 He leans against his house, but it won’t stand; he grabs hold of it firmly, but it doesn’t last. ISV — Job 8:15
16 He is a fresh sapling planted in the sunlight, spreading out its branches over its garden. ISV — Job 8:16
17 Its roots weave around a pile of stones, seeking to entrench itself among the rocks. ISV — Job 8:17
18 If he is uprooted d8:18 Lit. is swallowed up from his place, then it will deny him: ‘I never saw you.’ ISV — Job 8:18
19 “Indeed, this is the benefit of God’s e8:19 Lit. his way: from the soil other plants f8:19 The Heb. lacks plants will sprout. ISV — Job 8:19
20 Surely God won’t reject those who are blameless or hold hands with those who practice evil. ISV — Job 8:20
21 He will soon fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips will shout with joy. ISV — Job 8:21
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will no longer exist. ISV — Job 8:22