Job 8:1-22

Job's friend Bildad speaks to him

8:1Bildad tells Job that God is powerful and is always fair. So if Job lives the right way, his life will soon be better. But that does not help Job. He still does not understand why bad things have happened to him.

1 Job's friend Bildad, who came from Shuah, decided to speak. He said this to Job:

2 ‘You should not continue to talk like this.

Your words are like a wind that blows strongly.

3 Surely you know that God is fair.

The Almighty God never changes right things into wrong things.

4 Your children did things that were wrong.

That is why God punished them.

5 But you should pray to Almighty God.

You should ask him to help you.

6 If you are honest and live in the right way,

God will do something to help you.

He will give you a family again

that will bring you honour.

7 You will be successful in the future,

with more riches than you had before.

8 Think about the people who lived before us.

Study the things that our ancestors learned.

9 We have not lived for very long,

so we do not know very much.

Our lives are like shadows that quickly disappear.

10 But the people who lived before us can teach you.

They can tell you the things that they have learned.

11 Some plants only grow tall in wet ground.

Reeds only grow well where there is water.

12 If the water is no longer there,

they will quickly die.

They will die before they are ready for people to cut them.

They become useless more quickly than grass.

13 People who turn away from God are like those plants.

Their hope quickly disappears.

14 They trust in useless things to help them.

Those things are as weak as a spider's web.

8:14A spider is an insect that uses very thin strings (threads) to make a web. It catches insects in the web for its food.

15 If they expect something like that to help them,

it will fall down and leave them.

If they take hold of it,

it will not keep them safe.

16 People who turn away from God are like weeds.

When there is plenty of water and the sun shines on them,

they grow all over the garden.

17 Their roots grow around a heap of stones.

They have a strong home among the rocks.

18 But finally, someone pulls those weeds out of the ground.

When that happens,

nobody knows that the weeds were ever there.

19 People who are like weeds only have that kind of joy.

When they disappear, other weeds grow in their place.

20 Listen! God never turns away from a man who is not guilty.

Nor will he ever help wicked people.

21 He will surely make you happy again.

You will be able to laugh and shout with joy.

22 People who hate you will be ashamed.

Wicked people will have nowhere to live.’