| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: |
| 2How long will you go on saying these things? Your words are a blast of wind. | 2"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind? |
| 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4Since your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion. | 4If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5But if you earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to 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. | 6if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode. |
| 7Then, even if your beginnings were modest, your final days will be full of prosperity. | 7Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. |
| 8For ask the previous generation, and pay attention to what their fathers discovered, | 8"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; |
| 9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are but a shadow. | 9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10Will they not teach you and tell you and speak from their understanding? | 10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water? | 11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? |
| 12While still uncut shoots, they would dry up quicker than any other plant. | 12While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass! |
| 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish. | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, |
| 14His source of confidence is fragile; what he trusts in is a spider's web. | 14whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider's web. |
| 15He leans on his web, but it doesn't stand firm. He grabs it, but it does not hold up. | 15He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand. |
| 16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine; his shoots spread out over his garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden. |
| 17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks. He looks for a home among the stones. | 17It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones. |
| 18If he is uprooted from his place, it will deny knowing him, saying, "I never saw you." | 18If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!' |
| 19Surely this is the joy of his way of life; yet others will sprout from the dust. | 19Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. |
| 20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity, and He will not support evildoers. | 20"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. |
| 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with a shout of joy. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness. |
| 22Your enemies will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will exist no longer. | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." |
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