1Then Bildad from Shuah replied [to Job],

2"How long will you say these things? How long will your words be so windy?

3Does God distort justice, or does the Almighty distort righteousness?

4If your children sinned against him, he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.

5If you search for God and plead for mercy from the Almighty,

6if you are moral and ethical, then he will rise up on your behalf and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.

7Then what you had in the past will seem small compared with the great prosperity you'll have in the future.

8"Ask the people of past generations. Find out what their ancestors had learned.

9We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing. Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.

10Won't their words teach you? Won't they share their thoughts with you?

11"Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp? Can rushes grow tall without water?

12Even if they were fresh and not cut, they would wither quicker than grass.

13The same thing happens to all who forget God. The hope of the godless dies.

14His confidence is easily shattered. His trust is a spider's web.

15If one leans on his house, it collapses. If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.

16He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine. The shoots spread over his garden.

17Its roots weave through a pile of stones. They cling to a stone house.

18But when it is uprooted from its place, [the ground] denies it [and says], 'I never saw you!'

19That is its joy in this life, and others sprout from the same ground to [take its place].

20"Certainly, God does not reject a person of integrity or give a helping hand to wicked people.

21He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with happy shouting.

22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist."