Job 8
1 Respondens autem Baldad Suhites, dixit:
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 Usquequo loqueris talia, et spiritus multiplex sermones oris tui?
“How long will you say these things? How long will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 Numquid Deus supplantat iudicium? aut Omnipotens subvertit quod iustum est?
Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
4 Etiam si filii tui peccaverunt ei, et dimisit eos in manu iniquitatis suæ:
Your children have sinned against him; we know this, for he gave them into the hand of their sins.
5 Tu tamen si diluculo consurrexeris ad Deum, et Omnipotentem fueris deprecatus:
But suppose you diligently sought God and presented your request to the Almighty.
6 Si mundus et rectus incesseris, statim evigilabit ad te, et pacatum reddet habitaculum iustitiæ tuæ:
If you are pure and upright, then he would surely stir himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.
7 In tantum, ut si priora tua fuerint parva, et novissima tua multiplicentur nimis.
Even though your beginning was small, still your final condition would be much greater.
8 Interroga enim generationem pristinam, et diligenter investiga patrum memoriam:
Please ask the former generations, and give your attention to what our ancestors learned.
9 (Hesterni quippe sumus, et ignoramus quoniam sicut umbra dies nostri sunt super terram.)
(We were only born yesterday and know nothing because our days on earth are a shadow).
10 Et ipsi docebunt te: loquentur tibi, et de corde suo proferent eloquia.
Will they not teach you and tell you? Will they not speak words from their hearts?
11 Numquid vivere potest scirpus absque humore? aut crescere carectum sine aqua?
Can papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
12 Cum adhuc sit in flore, nec carpatur manu, ante omnes herbas arescit:
While they are still green and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
13 Sic viæ omnium, qui obliviscuntur Deum, et spes hypocritæ peribit:
So also are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless will perish.
14 Non ei placebit vecordia sua, et sicut tela aranearum fiducia eius.
His confidence will break apart, and his trust is as weak as a spider's web.
15 Innitetur super domum suam, et non stabit: fulciet eam, et non consurget:
He leans on his house, but it will not support him; he takes hold of it, but it does not stand.
16 Humectus videtur antequam veniat Sol, et in ortu suo germen eius egredietur.
Under the sun he is green, and his shoots go out over his entire garden.
17 Super acervum petrarum radices eius densabuntur, et inter lapides commorabitur.
His roots are wrapped about the heaps of stone; they look for good places among the rocks.
18 Si absorbuerit eum de loco suo, negabit eum, et dicet: Non novi te.
But if this person is destroyed out of his place, then that place will deny him and say, 'I never saw you.'
19 Hæc est enim lætitia viæ eius, ut rursum de terra alii germinentur.
See, this is the “joy” of such a person's behavior; other plants will sprout out of the same soil in his place.
20 Deus non proiiciet simplicem, nec porriget manum malignis:
See, God will not cast away an innocent man; neither will he take the hand of evildoers.
21 Donec impleatur risu os tuum, et labia tua iubilo.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
22 Qui oderunt te, induentur confusione: et tabernaculum impiorum non subsistet.
Those who hate you will be clothed with shame; the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
