Job 8 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Then Bildad from Shuah answered,

² “How long will you talk like that?\par Your words blow like a strong wind.\par

³ God is always fair.\par God All-Powerful never changes\par the things that are right.\par

⁴ If your children sinned against God,\par then he has punished them.\par They paid for their sins.\par

⁵ But now Job, look to God\par and pray to the All-Powerful.\par

⁶ If you are pure and good,\par then he will quickly come to help you.\par He will give your family back to you.\par

⁷ Then you will have a lot more\par than you had in the beginning!\par

⁸ “Ask the old people.\par Find out what their ancestors {\cf2\super [15]} learned.\par

⁹ It seems like we were born yesterday.\par We are too young to know for sure.\par Our days on earth are very short,\par like a shadow.\par

¹⁰ Maybe the old people can teach you.\par Maybe they can teach you\par what they have learned.”\par

¹¹ Bildad said,\par “Can papyrus {\cf2\super [16]} grow tall on a dry land?\par Can reeds grow without water?\par

¹² No. If the water dries up,\par then they will also be dry.\par They will be too small to cut and use.\par

¹³ People who forget God\par are like those reeds.\par The person who forgets God,\par has no hope.\par

¹⁴ That person has nothing to lean on.\par His security is like a spider’s web.\par

¹⁵ If a person leans against a spider’s web,\par the web will break.\par He holds on to the spider’s web,\par but it won’t support him.\par

¹⁶ That man is like a plant that has\par plenty of water and sunshine.\par Its branches spread all through the garden.\par

¹⁷ It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks,\par looking for a place to grow in the rocks.\par

¹⁸ But if the plant is moved from its place,\par \{it will die\} and no one would know\par that it had ever been there.\par

¹⁹ But the plant was happy,\par and another will grow in its place.\par

²⁰ God doesn’t abandon innocent people.\par He doesn’t help evil people.\par

²¹ God will still fill your mouth with laughter\par and your lips with happy shouts.\par

²² But shame will be the clothes\par your enemies wear.\par And the homes of wicked people\par will be destroyed.”\par