| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: |
| 2“How long will you speak these things, And the words of your 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? |
| 3Does God subvert judgment? Or does the Almighty pervert justice? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4If your sons have sinned against Him, He has cast them away for their transgression. | 4If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5If you would earnestly seek God And make your supplication to the Almighty, | 5But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty, |
| 6If you were pure and upright, Surely now He would awake for you, And prosper your rightful dwelling place. | 6if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode. |
| 7Though your beginning was small, Yet your latter end would increase abundantly. | 7Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. |
| 8“For inquire, please, of the former age, And consider the things discovered by their fathers; | 8"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; |
| 9For we were born yesterday, and know nothing, Because our days on earth are a shadow. | 9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10Will they not teach you and tell you, And utter words from their heart? | 10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh? Can the reeds flourish without water? | 11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? |
| 12While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant. | 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 who forget God; And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish, | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, |
| 14Whose confidence shall be cut off, And whose trust is a spider’s web. | 14whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider's web. |
| 15He leans on his house, but it does not stand. He holds it fast, but it does not endure. | 15He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand. |
| 16He grows green in the sun, And his branches spread out in his garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden. |
| 17His roots wrap around the rock heap, And look for a place in the stones. | 17It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones. |
| 18If he is destroyed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’ | 18If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!' |
| 19“Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow. | 19Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. |
| 20Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers. | 20"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. |
| 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness. |
| 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.” | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." |
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