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Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,

² "How long will you say these things?
And will the ^(C1)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

³ "Does ^(C1)God pervert justice?
Or does ^(F1)the Almighty pervert righteousness?

⁴ "^(C1)If your children have sinned against Him,
Then He has handed them over to the power of their transgression and punished them.

⁵ "If you would diligently ^(C1)seek God
And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

⁶ Then, if you are pure and upright,
Surely now ^(C1)He will awaken for you
And restore your righteous ^(C2)place.

⁷ "Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your ^(C1)end will greatly increase.

⁸ "^(C1)Inquire, please, of past generations,
And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.

⁹ "For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^(C1)our days on earth are like a shadow just a breath or a vapor.

¹⁰ "Will they (the fathers) not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their hearts the deepest part of their nature?

¹¹ "Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes or reed grass grow without water?

¹² "While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant when without water.

¹³ "So are the paths of ^(C1)all who forget God;
And the ^(C2)hope of the godless will perish,

¹⁴ For his confidence is fragile and breaks,
And his trust is like a ^(C1)spider's web.

¹⁵ "He trusts in his ^(C1)house, but it does not stand;
He holds tightly to it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶ "He ^(C1)thrives and prospers like a green plant before the sun,
And his ^(C2)branches spread out over his garden.

¹⁷ "His godless roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.

¹⁸ "If he is snatched from ^(C1)his place in the garden,
Then his place will forget him, saying, '^(C2)I have never seen you.'

¹⁹ "Behold, ^(C1)this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow to take his place.

²⁰ "Behold, ^(C1)God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor ^(C2)will He strengthen or support evildoers.

²¹ "He will yet fill ^(C1)your mouth with laughter
And your lips with joyful shouting if you are found blameless.

²² "Those who hate you will be ^(C1)clothed with shame,
And the ^(C2)tents of the wicked will be no longer."