| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Then in response, Bildad from Shuah said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: |
| 2"How long will you keep talking like this? How long will you keep talking like a wind storm? | 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's right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4"If your children sin against him, he'll make them a prisoner of their sins. | 4If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy, | 5But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty, |
| 6if you are clean and upright, surely then, he'll act on your behalf and restore your rightful place. | 6if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode. |
| 7Your beginning may be small, but later years will be very great. | 7Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. |
| 8"Inquire of the previous generation, won't you please? Consider what their forefathers searched out. | 8"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; |
| 9Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow. | 9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10Won't they instruct you, and tell you, and bring out words from the heart? | 10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11"Can papyrus grow where there's no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? | 11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? |
| 12While they are still green and not yet ready to be harvested, they wither before any plant. | 12While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass! |
| 13Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God— the hope of the godless will be destroyed: | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, |
| 14his confidence is shattered; his trust is in a spider's web. | 14whose trust is in something futile, whose security is 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. | 15He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand. |
| 16He is a fresh sapling planted in the sunlight, spreading out its branches over its garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden. |
| 17Its roots weave around a pile of stones, seeking to entrench itself among the rocks. | 17It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones. |
| 18If he is uprooted from his place, then it will deny him: 'I never saw you.' | 18If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!' |
| 19"Indeed, this is the benefit of God's way: from the soil other plants will sprout. | 19Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. |
| 20Surely God won't reject those who are blameless or hold hands with those who practice evil. | 20"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. |
| 21He will soon fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips will shout with joy. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness. |
| 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 tent of the wicked will be no more." |
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