Bildad Speaks
1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2How long will you go on saying these things?
4Since your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to their rebellion.
6if you are pure and upright,
then he will move even now on your behalf
7Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
8For ask the previous generation,
9since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
10Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?
11Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?
12While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.
13Such is the destiny8:13 Lit Such are the ways of all who forget God;
14His source of confidence is fragile;8:14 Or cut off; Hb obscure
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.8:14–15 Jb 27:18; Is 59:5; Mt 7:26–27
15He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.
16He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.
17His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.
18If he is uprooted8:18 Or destroyed from his place,
19Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.
20Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
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