Bildad Speaks of the Wicked

1Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

2“How long will you hunt for words?

Show understanding, and then we can talk.

3“Why are we regarded as animals,

As stupid in your eyes?

4“[a]You who tear yourself in your anger—

Should the earth be abandoned for your sake,

Or the rock moved from its place?

5“Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out,

And the spark from his fire does not shine.

6“The light in his tent is darkened,

And his lamp goes out above him.

7“His [b]vigorous stride is shortened,

And his own plan brings him down.

8“For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,

And he steps on the webbing.

9“A snare seizes him by the heel,

And a trap snaps shut on him.

10“A noose for him is hidden in the ground,

And a trap for him on the pathway.

11“All around sudden terrors frighten him,

And harass him at every step.

12“His strength is famished,

And disaster is ready at his side.

13“[c]It devours parts of his skin,

The firstborn of death devours his [d]limbs.

14“He is torn from [e]the security of his tent,

And [f]they march him before the king of terrors.

15“[g]Nothing of his dwells in his tent;

Brimstone is scattered on his home.

16“His roots are dried below,

And his branch withers above.

17“The memory of him perishes from the earth,

And he has no name abroad.

18“[h]He is driven from light into darkness,

And chased from the inhabited world.

19“He has no offspring or descendants among his people,

Nor any survivor where he resided.

20“Those in the west are appalled at his [i]fate,

And those in the east are seized with horror.

21“Certainly these are the dwellings of the wicked,

And this is the place of him who does not know God.”