Bildad’s first speech to Job

1Then Bildad, from the Shuah area, spoke to Job. He said,

2“Job, how much longer will you talk like this? What you say is only hot air.

3Almighty God certainly never does [RHQ] what is unfair/unjust. He always does [LIT] what is right/fair.

4So, it is evident that your children have sinned against him, therefore he has caused them to be punished for evil things that they have done.

5But, if you will now earnestly request [DOU] Almighty God to help you,

6and if you are pure and honest/righteous, he will surely do something good for you
and reward you by giving your family back to you and enabling you to prosper.

7And even though you think that you were not very prosperous/wealthy before, during the last part of your life you will become very wealthy.

8“I request you to think about what happened long ago and consider what our ancestors found out.

9It seems as though we were born only yesterday and we know very little [HYP]; our time here on the earth disappears quickly, like a shadow [MET].

10So, why do you not allow your ancestors to teach you and tell you something? Allow them to tell you from what they learned!

11Papyrus can certainly not [RHQ] grow in places where there is no marsh/swamp; reeds certainly cannot [RHQ] flourish/grow where there is no water.

12If they do not have enough water, while they are still blossoming, they wither more quickly than other plants wither.

13Those who do not pay attention to what God says are like those reeds; godless people stop confidently expecting that good things will happen to them.

14The things they confidently expect to happen do not happen; things they trust will help them are as fragile as [MET] a spider’s web.

15If they lean against a house (OR, trust in their wealth; OR, lean on a spider web), it does not ◄endure/protect them► [LIT]; they cling to things to be protected, but those things do not remain firm.

16Godless people are like plants [MET] that are watered before the sun rises; their shoots spread all over the gardens.

17The roots of those plants twist around piles of stones and cling tightly to rocks.

18But if those plants are pulled out, it is as though the place where they were planted says ‘They were never here!’
And that is what happens to wicked people who do not heed what God says.

19Truly, evil people [MET] are not joyful [IRO] for a long time; other people come and take their places.

20:So, I tell you, Job, God will not reject you if you are truly godly/righteous, but he does not help [IDM] evil people.

21He will enable you [MTY] to continually laugh and to always shout joyfully.

22But those who hate you will be very ashamed, and the homes of wicked people will disappear.”