| King James Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: |
| 2How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? | 2"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind? |
| 3Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression; | 4If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5If thou wouldest seek unto God betimes, and make thy supplication to the Almighty; | 5But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty, |
| 6If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. | 6if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode. |
| 7Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase. | 7Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. |
| 8For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers: | 8"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; |
| 9(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) | 9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart? | 10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? | 11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? |
| 12Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. | 12While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass! |
| 13So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, |
| 14Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. | 14whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider's web. |
| 15He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. | 15He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand. |
| 16He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden. |
| 17His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones. | 17It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones. |
| 18If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee. | 18If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!' |
| 19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow. | 19Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. |
| 20Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he help the evil doers: | 20"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. |
| 21Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness. |
| 22They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought. | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." |
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