English Standard Version | Christian Standard Bible |
1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: |
2“How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? | 2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. |
3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
4If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. | 4Since your children sinned against him, he gave them over to their rebellion. |
5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, |
6if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. | 6if you are pure and upright, then he will move even now on your behalf and restore the home where your righteousness dwells. |
7And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. | 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity. |
8“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. | 8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their fathers discovered, |
9For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. | 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. |
10Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding? | 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? |
11“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? | 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? |
12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. | 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. |
13Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish. |
14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web. | 14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider's web. |
15He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. | 15He leans on his web, but it doesn't stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. |
16He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. |
17His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones. | 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. |
18If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ | 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, "I never saw you." |
19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. | 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. |
20“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. | 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and he will not support evildoers. |
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. |
22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” | 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will no longer exist. |
ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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