Book - Job - Chapter = 8 --> NLT
-
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
-
"How long will you go on like this? Your words are a blustering wind.
-
Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
-
Your children obviously sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
-
But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
-
if you are pure and live with complete integrity, he will rise up and restore your happy home.
-
And though you started with little, you will end with much.
-
"Just ask the former generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
-
For we were born but yesterday and know so little. Our days on earth are as transient as a shadow.
-
But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations.
-
"Can papyrus reeds grow where there is no marsh? Can bulrushes flourish where there is no water?
-
While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither.
-
Such is the fate of all who forget God. The hope of the godless comes to nothing.
-
Everything they count on will collapse. They are leaning on a spiderweb.
-
They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold it fast, but it will not endure.
-
The godless seem so strong, like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
-
Its roots grow down through a pile of rocks to hold it firm.
-
But when it is uprooted, it isn't even missed!
-
That is the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
-
"But look! God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he make evildoers prosper.
-
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
-
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be destroyed."