International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
1Then in response, Bildad from Shuah said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job: |
2"How long will you keep talking like this? How long will you keep talking like a wind storm? | 2“How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind. |
3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what's right? | 3Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right? |
4"If your children sin against him, he'll make them a prisoner of their sins. | 4Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved. |
5If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, |
6if you are clean and upright, surely then, he'll act on your behalf and restore your rightful place. | 6and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. |
7Your beginning may be small, but later years will be very great. | 7And though you started with little, you will end with much. |
8"Inquire of the previous generation, won't you please? Consider what their forefathers searched out. | 8“Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors. |
9Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow. | 9For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow. |
10Won't they instruct you, and tell you, and bring out words from the heart? | 10But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old. |
11"Can papyrus grow where there's no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? | 11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water? |
12While they are still green and not yet ready to be harvested, they wither before any plant. | 12While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass. |
13Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God— the hope of the godless will be destroyed: | 13The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate. |
14his confidence is shattered; his trust is in a spider's web. | 14Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web. |
15He leans against his house, but it won't stand; he grabs hold of it firmly, but it doesn't last. | 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 fresh sapling planted in the sunlight, spreading out its branches over its garden. | 16The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden. |
17Its roots weave around a pile of stones, seeking to entrench itself among the rocks. | 17Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks. |
18If he is uprooted from his place, then it will deny him: 'I never saw you.' | 18But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed! |
19"Indeed, this is the benefit of God's way: from the soil other plants will sprout. | 19That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it. |
20Surely God won't reject those who are blameless or hold hands with those who practice evil. | 20“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked. |
21He will soon fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips will shout with joy. | 21He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. |
22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and 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 Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | 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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