since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?

Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless will perish.

While still uncut shoots,
they would dry up quicker than any other plant.

His source of confidence is fragile;
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;
his shoots spread out over his garden.

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Do reeds flourish without water?

If he is uprooted from his place,
it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

Surely this is the joy of his way of life;
yet others will sprout from the dust.

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a shout of joy.

Your enemies will be clothed with shame;
the tent of the wicked will exist no longer.

Look, God does not reject a person of integrity,
and He will not support evildoers.

For ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,

Then, even if your beginnings were modest,
your final days will be full of prosperity.

His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words are a blast of wind.

Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

Since your children sinned against Him,
He gave them over to their rebellion.

if you are pure and upright,
then He will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.