1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

2“How long will you say these things,
         And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

3“Does God pervert justice?
         Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4“If your sons sinned against Him,
         Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.

5“If you would seek God
         And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

6If you are pure and upright,
         Surely now He would rouse Himself for you
         And restore your righteous estate.

7“Though your beginning was insignificant,
         Yet your end will increase greatly.

8“Please inquire of past generations,
         And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

9“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
         Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

10“Will they not teach you and tell you,
         And bring forth words from their minds?

11“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
         Can the rushes grow without water?

12“While it is still green and not cut down,
         Yet it withers before any other plant.

13“So are the paths of all who forget God;
         And the hope of the godless will perish,

14Whose confidence is fragile,
         And whose trust a spider’s web.

15“He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
         He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16“He thrives before the sun,
         And his shoots spread out over his garden.

17“His roots wrap around a rock pile,
         He grasps a house of stones.

18“If he is removed from his place,
         Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

19“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
         And out of the dust others will spring.

20“Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity,
         Nor will He support the evildoers.

21“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
         And your lips with shouting.

22“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
         And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

NASB ©1995