Bildad's First Speech
How Long Will You Talk?
1 Bildad from Shuah said:
2 How long will you talk
and keep saying nothing?
3 Does God All-Powerful
stand in the way of justice?
4 He made your children pay
for their sins.
5 So why don't you turn to him
6 and start living right?
Then he will decide
to rescue and restore you
to your place of honor.
7 Your future will be brighter
by far than your past.
Our Ancestors Were Wise
8 Our ancestors were wise,
so learn from them.
9 Our own time has been short,
like a fading shadow,
and we know very little.
10 But they will instruct you
with great understanding.
11 Papyrus reeds grow healthy
only in a swamp,
12 and if the water dries up,
they die sooner than grass.
13 Such is the hopeless future
of all who turn from God
14 and trust in something as frail
as a spider's web—
15 they take hold and fall
because it's so flimsy.
16 Sinful people are like plants
with spreading roots and plenty
of sun and water.
17 They wrap their roots tightly
around rocks.
18 But once they are pulled up,
they have no more place;
19 their life slips away,
and other plants grow there.
20 We know God doesn't reject
an innocent person
or help a sinner.
21 And so, he will make you happy
and give you something
to smile about.
22 But your evil enemies
will be put to shame
and disappear forever.
Bildad
1-2 Are you finally through with your windy speech?
3 God never twists justice;
he never fails to do what is right.
4 Your children must have sinned against God,
and so he punished them as they deserved.
5 But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
6 if you are so honest and pure,
then God will come and help you
and restore your household as your reward.
7 All the wealth you lost will be nothing
compared with what God will give you then.
8 Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;
consider the truths our ancestors learned.
9 Our life is short, we know nothing at all;
we pass like shadows across the earth.
10 But let the ancient wise people teach you;
listen to what they had to say:
11 “Reeds can't grow where there is no water;
they are never found outside a swamp.
12 If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,
while still too small to be cut and used.
13 Godless people are like those reeds;
their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
14 They trust a thread—a spider's web.
15 If they lean on a web, will it hold them up?
If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”
16 Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun,
like weeds that spread all through the garden.
17 Their roots wrap around the stones
and hold fast to every rock.
18 But then pull them up—
no one will ever know they were there.
19 Yes, that's all the joy evil people have;
others now come and take their places.
20 But God will never abandon the faithful
or ever give help to evil people.
21 He will let you laugh and shout again,
22 but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you,
and the homes of the wicked will vanish.