Read Scripture ad-free with Bible Gateway Plus—trusted Study Bibles and commentaries beside every verse. Try it FREE for 7 days.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Job 8
New International Version

### Bildad

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite(A) replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?(B)
Your words are a blustering wind.(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?(D)
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
and plead(G) with the Almighty,(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(I)
and restore you to your prosperous state.(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous(K) will your future be.(L)

8 “Ask the former generation(M)
and find out what their ancestors learned,
9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(N)
and our days on earth are but a shadow.(O)
10 Will they not instruct(P) you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(R)
Can reeds(S) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.(T)
13 Such is the destiny(U) of all who forget God;(V)
so perishes the hope of the godless.(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile[a];
what they rely on is a spider’s web.(X)
15 They lean on the web,(Y) but it gives way;
they cling to it, but it does not hold.(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots(AA) over the garden;(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(AD)
19 Surely its life withers(AE) away,
and[b] from the soil other plants grow.(AF)

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(AG)
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(AI)
and your lips with shouts of joy.(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(AK)
and the tents(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”(AM)

#### Footnotes

1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that

#### Cross references

1. Job 8:1 : S Ge 25:2; Job 18:1; 25:1
2. Job 8:2 : Job 11:2; 18:2
3. Job 8:2 : S 2Ch 36:16; S Job 6:26
4. Job 8:3 : S Job 4:17; 34:12; Isa 29:15; Ro 3:5
5. Job 8:3 : S Ge 18:25; S Jer 12:1
6. Job 8:4 : Job 1:19
7. Job 8:5 : Job 9:15
8. Job 8:5 : S Job 5:8, 27
9. Job 8:6 : S Job 5:15; 22:27; 33:26; 34:28; Isa 58:9; 65:24
10. Job 8:6 : S Job 5:24
11. Job 8:7 : Job 21:13; 22:21; 36:11; Ps 25:13
12. Job 8:7 : S Job 1:10; Jer 29:11; 31:17
13. Job 8:8 : S Dt 32:7; S Ps 71:18
14. Job 8:9 : S Ge 47:9
15. Job 8:9 : S 1Ch 29:15; S 2Ch 10:6; S Ps 39:6
16. Job 8:10 : Pr 1:8
17. Job 8:10 : Pr 2:1-2; 4:1
18. Job 8:11 : Job 40:21
19. Job 8:11 : S Ex 2:3; Isa 19:6; 35:7
20. Job 8:12 : ver 19; S 2Ki 19:26; Job 18:16; 20:5; Ps 90:5-6; 102:11; Isa 34:4; 40:7, 24
21. Job 8:13 : Ps 37:38; 73:17
22. Job 8:13 : Ps 9:17; 50:22; Isa 51:13; Jer 17:6
23. Job 8:13 : Job 6:9; 11:20; 13:16; 15:34; 20:5; 27:8; 34:30; Ps 37:1-2; 112:10; Pr 10:28; 11:7; Jer 15:9
24. Job 8:14 : ver 15; Job 27:18; Isa 59:5
25. Job 8:15 : S ver 14
26. Job 8:15 : Ps 49:11; Mt 7:26-27
27. Job 8:16 : Ps 80:11; Isa 16:8
28. Job 8:16 : Ps 37:35; Jer 11:16
29. Job 8:18 : Job 20:9; Ps 103:16
30. Job 8:18 : S Job 7:8; S 14:20
31. Job 8:19 : S ver 12; S Job 15:30
32. Job 8:19 : Ps 119:90; Ecc 1:4
33. Job 8:20 : Job 1:1
34. Job 8:20 : S Ge 18:25
35. Job 8:21 : S Job 5:22
36. Job 8:21 : S Ezr 3:13; Job 35:10; Ps 47:5; 107:22; 118:15; 126:2; 132:16; Isa 35:6
37. Job 8:22 : Job 27:7; Ps 6:10; 35:26; 44:7; 53:5; 71:13; 86:17; 109:29; 132:18; Eze 7:27; 26:16
38. Job 8:22 : S Job 4:21
39. Job 8:22 : S 1Sa 8:3; Job 18:6, 14, 21; 21:28; 27:8, 18; 34:26; 36:6; 38:13; Ps 52:5; Pr 14:11

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

### More on the NIV

- Unleash God's Word!

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NIV, Journal the Word Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Reflect, Take Notes, or Create Art Next to Your Favorite Verses
Retail: $39.99
Our Price: $27.99
Save: $12.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, Comfort Print: Follow God’s Redemptive Plan as It Unfolds throughout Scripture
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color, Red Letter: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV Application Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Bringing the Ancient Message of the Bible into Your World
Retail: $54.99
Our Price: $35.00
Save: $19.99 (36%)
Buy Now
NIV, Chronological Study Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles