1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said, 2 “How much longer will you go on talking like this? The words coming out of your mouth are a lot of hot air!* 3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? 4 Your children must have sinned against him, and so they deserved the punishment he inflicted on them. 5 But if you pray to God and ask for his help, 6 if you live a clean life and do what is right, then he would act to make things right for you in your home.† 7 Though you began with next to nothing, you will end up with so much!

8 Why don't you ask what previous generations discovered, examine what our ancestors found out? We were born yesterday and don't know anything! 9 Our days on earth fade as quickly as a passing shadow. 10 Won't they‡ teach you and explain what they know? 11 Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water? 12 Even without being cut, while they are still flowering, they wither faster than grass. 13 This is what happens to everyone who forgets God. The hopes of those who live without God come to nothing. 14 Their confidence is like holding on§ to a flimsy spider's web. 15 They look to their home to provide security, but it provides no support. They try to hang onto it, but it doesn't last. 16 Those who live without God are like a luxuriant plant growing in the sun, spreading its shoots all over the garden. 17 It twists its roots down through the stones, and holds on to rock. 18 But when it's cut down, the place where it was disowns it, saying, ‘I never even saw you.’ 19 Its life is over, and others spring up from the earth to take its place.

20 Look, God doesn't reject someone who is innocent, and he doesn't support those who are guilty. 21 He can make you laugh with happiness again and shout for joy. 22 Those who hate you will be put to shame, and the place where the wicked live* will be destroyed.”