| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 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? | 2"How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering 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. | 4When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, |
| 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, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. |
| 7And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. | 7Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. |
| 8“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. | 8"Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, |
| 9For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. | 9for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and 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 instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? | 11Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? |
| 12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. | 12While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. |
| 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; so perishes the hope of the godless. |
| 14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web. | 14What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on 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. | 15They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold. |
| 16He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. | 16They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; |
| 17His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones. | 17it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. |
| 18If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ | 18But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.' |
| 19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. | 19Surely its life withers away, and from the soil other plants grow. |
| 20“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. | 20"Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of 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 shouts 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 in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more." |
| 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. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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