| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said: |
| 2“How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind. | 2"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind? |
| 3Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right? |
| 4Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved. | 4If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. |
| 5But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, | 5But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty, |
| 6and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. | 6if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode. |
| 7And though you started with little, you will end with much. | 7Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish. |
| 8“Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors. | 8"For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors; |
| 9For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow. | 9For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow. |
| 10But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old. | 10Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding? |
| 11“Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water? | 11Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? |
| 12While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass. | 12While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass! |
| 13The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate. | 13Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes, |
| 14Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider’s web. | 14whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider's web. |
| 15They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure. | 15He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand. |
| 16The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden. | 16He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden. |
| 17Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks. | 17It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones. |
| 18But when it is uprooted, it’s as though it never existed! | 18If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!' |
| 19That’s the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it. | 19Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up. |
| 20“But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked. | 20"Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers. |
| 21He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of 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 home of the wicked will be destroyed.” | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more." |
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