| International Standard Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Then in response, Bildad from Shuah said: | 1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: |
| 2"How long will you keep talking like this? How long will you keep talking like a wind storm? | 2“How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind? |
| 3Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what's right? | 3Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right? |
| 4"If your children sin against him, he'll make them a prisoner of their sins. | 4If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. |
| 5If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy, | 5If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, |
| 6if you are clean and upright, surely then, he'll act on your behalf and restore your rightful place. | 6if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation. |
| 7Your beginning may be small, but later years will be very great. | 7And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great. |
| 8"Inquire of the previous generation, won't you please? Consider what their forefathers searched out. | 8“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out. |
| 9Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing, for our time on earth is only a shadow. | 9For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow. |
| 10Won't they instruct you, and tell you, and bring out words from the heart? | 10Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding? |
| 11"Can papyrus grow where there's no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water? | 11“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? |
| 12While they are still green and not yet ready to be harvested, they wither before any plant. | 12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. |
| 13Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God— the hope of the godless will be destroyed: | 13Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. |
| 14his confidence is shattered; his trust is in a spider's web. | 14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web. |
| 15He leans against his house, but it won't stand; he grabs hold of it firmly, but it doesn't last. | 15He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. |
| 16He is a fresh sapling planted in the sunlight, spreading out its branches over its garden. | 16He is a lush plant before the sun, and his shoots spread over his garden. |
| 17Its roots weave around a pile of stones, seeking to entrench itself among the rocks. | 17His roots entwine the stone heap; he looks upon a house of stones. |
| 18If he is uprooted from his place, then it will deny him: 'I never saw you.' | 18If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ |
| 19"Indeed, this is the benefit of God's way: from the soil other plants will sprout. | 19Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the soil others will spring. |
| 20Surely God won't reject those who are blameless or hold hands with those who practice evil. | 20“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man, nor take the hand of evildoers. |
| 21He will soon fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips will shout with joy. | 21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting. |
| 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will no longer exist. | 22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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