1 ARST Then Bildad, Job’ s friend from the Shuhite people group, responded to Job. He said, BSB BSB: Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 ARST “Job, you should not continue to talk like this. You are saying a lot of things, but they are not sensible. BSB BSB: “How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.
3 ARST God always does things fairly. Yes, Shaddai always does what is right. BSB BSB: Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 ARST Your children sinned against God. This is evident, because God has punished them for the evil things they did. BSB BSB: When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.
5 ARST But as for you, you should pray to God. Yes, you should ask Shaddai to help you. BSB BSB: But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy,
6 ARST If you are genuinely good, then God will certainly do something good for you. He will give you back the abundant prosperity that good people have. BSB BSB: if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.
7 ARST God would make you so wealthy later in life that it would seem as if you were not very prosperous before! BSB BSB: Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
8 ARST You should really consider the wise teachings of the people who lived before us. Yes, you should think about what our ancestors learned about life. BSB BSB: Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.
9 ARST I advise you to consider the wisdom of our ancestors because we have only been alive for a short time and we know very little. This is because our time here on the earth is very short, like a shadow that appears briefly and then goes away. BSB BSB: For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.
10 ARST But if you consider the wisdom of our ancestors, you will learn useful things. Indeed, you will learn very profound things. BSB BSB: Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?
11 ARST Papyrus certainly does not grow away from marshland. No, reeds certainly cannot grow where there is no water. BSB BSB: Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?
12 ARST If their water dries up while they are blossoming, they wither, while plants that do have water keep flourishing. BSB BSB: While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up more quickly than grass.
13 ARST People who do not pay attention to God are like those reeds. Such people hope for good things, but they do not get them. BSB BSB: Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so the hope of the godless will perish.
14 ARST Godless people confidently expect good things to happen to them, but those things do not happen. Godless people trust certain other people to help them, but those others prove unreliable. BSB BSB: His confidence is fragile; his security is in a spider’s web.
15 ARST Godless people think they are secure because they are wealthy, but ultimately they can not rely on their wealth for security. When they begin to fail despite their wealth, they try to preserve their status, but they fail anyway. BSB BSB: He leans on his web, but it gives way; he holds fast, but it does not endure.
16 ARST Godless people are like plants that formerly flourished in abundant sunshine, whose branches once spread out over the ground. BSB BSB: He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden.
17 ARST Godless people are like plants whose roots once twisted securely around piles of stones and clung tightly to rocks. BSB BSB: His roots wrap around the rock heap; he looks for a home among the stones.
18 ARST But a person can still pull a plant completely out of the ground even if it is that healthy and securely rooted. Then it will be as if the plant was never there in the first place. People who do not pay attention to God will perish just as completely. BSB BSB: If he is uprooted from his place, it will disown him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’
19 ARST So people who do not pay attention to God will be sad in the end. Other people will come and take their places. BSB BSB: Surely this is the joy of his way; yet others will spring from the dust.
20 ARST So I tell you, Job, that God will help you if you do what is right. But God will not help you if you do what is wrong. BSB BSB: Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.
21 ARST God can still make you happy, yes, very happy. BSB BSB: He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.
22 ARST { When God blesses you,} everyone who opposed you will be very ashamed. God will completely destroy wicked people.” BSB BSB: Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.