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Bildad's First Speech

How Long Will You Talk?

Bildad from Shuah[a] said:
How long will you talk
    and keep saying nothing?
Does God All-Powerful
    stand in the way of justice?
He made your children pay
    for their sins.
So why don't you turn to him
    and start living right?
Then he will decide
to rescue and restore you
    to your place of honor.
Your future will be brighter
    by far than your past.

Our Ancestors Were Wise

(A) Our ancestors were wise,
    so learn from them.
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.[b]
18 But once they are pulled up,
    they have no more place;
19 their life slips away,[c]
    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.

Job's Reply to Bildad

What You Say Is True

Job said:
(B) What you say is true.
No human is innocent
    in the sight of God.
Not once in a thousand times
could we win our case
    if we took him to court.
God is wise and powerful—
who could possibly
    oppose him and win?
When God becomes angry,
he can move mountains
    before they even know it.
God can shake the earth loose
    from its foundations
(C) or command the sun and stars
    to hold back their light.
God alone stretched out the sky,
    stepped on the sea,[d]
(D) and set the stars in place—
    the Big Dipper and Orion,
the Pleiades and the stars
    in the southern sky.
10 Of all the miracles God works,
    we cannot understand a one.
11 God walks right past me,
    without making a sound.
12 And if he grabs something,
who can stop him
    or raise a question?

13 When God showed his anger,
the servants of the sea monster[e]
    fell at his feet.
14 How, then, could I possibly
    argue my case with God?

Though I Am Innocent

15 Even though I am innocent,
    I can only beg for mercy.
16 And if God came into court
when I called him,
    he would not hear my case.
17 He would strike me with a storm[f]
and increase my injuries
    for no reason at all.
18 Before I could get my breath,
    my miseries would multiply.
19 God is much stronger than I am,
and who would call me into court
    to give me justice?

20 Even if I were innocent,
    God would prove me wrong.[g]
21 I am not guilty,
but I no longer care
    what happens to me.
22 What difference does it make?
God destroys the innocent
    along with the guilty.
23 When a good person dies
a sudden death,
    God sits back and laughs.
24 And who else but God
    blindfolds the judges,
then lets the wicked
    take over the earth?

My Life Is Speeding By

25 My life is speeding by,
    without a hope of happiness.
26 Each day passes swifter
than a sailing ship
    or an eagle swooping down.
27 Sometimes I try to be cheerful
    and to stop complaining,
28 but my sufferings frighten me,
because I know that God
    still considers me guilty.
29 So what's the use of trying
    to prove my innocence?
30 Even if I washed myself
    with the strongest soap,
31 God would throw me into a pit
of stinking slime, leaving me
    disgusting to my clothes.

32 God isn't a mere human like me.
    I can't put him on trial.
33 Who could possibly judge
    between the two of us?
34 Can someone snatch away
the stick God carries
    to frighten me?
35 Then I could speak up
without fear of him,
    but for now, I cannot speak.[h]

Job Complains to God

I Am Sick of Life!

10 I am sick of life!
And from my deep despair,
    I complain to you, my God.
Don't just condemn me!
    Point out my sin.
Why do you take such delight
in destroying those you created
    and in smiling on sinners?
Do you look at things
    the way we humans do?
Is your life as short as ours?
Is that why you are so quick
    to find fault with me?
(E) You know I am innocent,
but who can defend me
    against you?
Will you now destroy
    someone you created?
Remember that you molded me
    like a piece of clay.
So don't turn me back
    into dust once again.
10 (F) As cheese is made from milk,
you created my body
    from a tiny drop.
11 Then you tied my bones together
with muscles and covered them
    with flesh and skin.
12 You, the source of my life,
showered me with kindness
    and watched over me.

You Have Not Explained

13 You have not explained
    all of your mysteries,
14 but you catch and punish me
    each time I sin.
15 Guilty or innocent,
I am condemned and ashamed
    because of my troubles.
16 No matter how hard I try,
you keep hunting me down
    like a powerful lion.[i]
17 You never stop accusing me;
you become furious and attack
    over and over again.

18 Why did you let me be born?
I would rather have died
    before birth
19 and been carried to the grave
    without ever breathing.
20 I have only a few days left.
Why don't you leave me alone?[j]
    Let me find some relief,
* 21 before I travel to the land
22 of darkness and despair,
    the place of no return.

Footnotes

  1. 8.1 Shuah: See the note at 2.11.
  2. 8.17 rocks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
  3. 8.19 their … away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 9.8 sea: Or “sea monster” (see verse 13 and the note there).
  5. 9.13 the sea monster: The Hebrew text has “Rahab,” which was some kind of sea monster with supernatural powers (see the notes at 3.8 and 26.12).
  6. 9.17 strike … storm: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  7. 9.20 God … wrong: Or “my own words would prove me wrong.”
  8. 9.35 but … speak: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  9. 10.16 lion: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.
  10. 10.20 I have only … alone: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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