Job
Chapter 8
First Speech of Bildad
Bildad the Shuhite spoke:
How long will you keep saying things like that? Your words are just long-winded bluster.
Does God warp judgment? Does the Almighty twist justice?
If your children wronged him, he has made them pay for their sins.
But if you turn back to God and plead with the Almighty,
if you are blameless and righteous, even now He will care for you and restore you to your proper place.
And your prosperity will be so great that it will make you forget the past.
Inquire of the past generations and learn from their ancestors’ experience;
for born but yesterday, we know nothing and our days on earth are but a shadow.
They will correct and teach you with words that come from the heart.
Can papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds thrive without water?
Even if still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than any plant.
Such is the fate of those who forget God; the hope of the godless vanishes.
His trust is hanging by a thread; a spider’s web is what he relies on.
He leans on his house, but it does not stand; he clings to it, but it crumbles.
He is sturdy under the sun, spreading its shoots in the garden,
its roots entwined around the rocks, holding fast to each stone.
But when uprooted, the place rejects it: “I have never known you.”
And there it lies rotting by the road, while other plants grow in its place.
Indeed, God does not reject the blameless, nor lend his hand to the evildoer.
He will again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with joyful shouts.
Your enemies will be confused, and the tent of the wicked will disappear.
Commentaries
First Speech Session.
Appalled by Job’s laments and his repeated “whys,” the three friends break their wise silence and feel urged to reply. The speeches are divided into three sessions: 4:1-14:22, 15:1-21:34, and 22:1-27:23. In the first two, each friend speaks, and Job responds extensively. The third session seems somewhat disorganized, likely due to confusion in the text.
First Speech of Bildad.
With an insulting remark, Job’s second friend enters the conversation and immediately begins to defend God’s justice. Although it was implied before, the question now becomes clearer (3). Following the tradition of wise elders, Bildad appeals to the wisdom passed down through generations by ancestors (8-10). Echoing this, he quotes a proverb: just as plants need water to grow and thrive, so humans need God to grow and prosper (11f). Then, Bildad illustrates the person who forgets God. Such spiritual amnesia can only lead to serious consequences, and even if that person attains some prosperity, it will always be fragile (13-19). On the other hand, God does not forget the righteous (20-22). If Job repented, his life would once again be filled with laughter and joy. Ironically, Bildad gives a hint of what will actually happen at the end of the book (42:7-17).