1 A nd Bildad the Shuhite answereth and saith: --

¶ Then Bildad, the Shuhite, answered and said,

2 T ill when dost thou speak these things? And a strong wind -- sayings of thy mouth?

How long wilt thou speak such things and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

3 D oth God pervert judgment? And doth the Mighty One pervert justice?

Shall God pervert that which is right or shall the Almighty pervert justice?

4 I f thy sons have sinned before Him, And He doth send them away, By the hand of their transgression,

Because thy sons sinned against him, he cast them away in the place of their rebellion;

5 I f thou dost seek early unto God, And unto the Mighty makest supplication,

if thou would seek God early and make thy supplication to the Almighty,

6 I f pure and upright thou, Surely now He waketh for thee, And hath completed The habitation of thy righteousness.

if thou wert pure and upright, surely now he would awake upon thee and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

7 A nd thy beginning hath been small, And thy latter end is very great.

In such a way that thy beginning would have been small, in comparison to the great increase of thy latter.

8 F or, ask I pray thee of a former generation, And prepare to a search of their fathers,

¶ Ask, I pray thee, of the former age, and be willing to enquire of thy fathers regarding them;

9 ( For of yesterday we, and we know not, For a shadow our days on earth.)

for we are but of yesterday and know nothing because our days upon earth are as a shadow.

10 D o they not shew thee -- speak to thee, And from their heart bring forth words?

Shall they not teach thee and tell thee and utter these words out of their heart?

11 ` Doth a rush wise without mire? A reed increase without water?

Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the meadow grow without water?

12 W hile it in its budding -- uncropt, Even before any herb it withereth.

Whilst it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withers before any other herb.

13 S o the paths of all forgetting God, And the hope of the profane doth perish,

So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.

14 W hose confidence is loathsome, And the house of a spider his trust.

For his hope shall be cut off, and his trust is a spider’s web.

15 H e leaneth on his house -- and it standeth not: He taketh hold on it -- and it abideth not.

He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

16 G reen he before the sun, And over his garden his branch goeth out.

Like a tree, he is green before the sun, and his branches go forth over his garden;

17 B y a heap his roots are wrapped, A house of stones he looketh for.

his roots weave themselves around a spring and secure themselves even in a stony place.

18 I f doth destroy him from his place, Then it hath feigned concerning him, I have not seen thee!

If he is uprooted from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

19 L o, this the joy of his way, And from the dust others spring up.'

Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth from where he was transplanted, others shall grow.

20 L o, God doth not reject the perfect, Nor taketh hold on the hand of evil doers.

¶ Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man; neither will he help the evil doers.

21 W hile he filleth with laughter thy mouth, And thy lips with shouting,

He will yet fill thy mouth with laughing and thy lips with shouts of joy.

22 T hose hating thee do put on shame, And the tent of the wicked is not!

Those that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.