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Bildad Speaks: You Are Unjustly Accusing God of Doing Evil, Job

Then Bildad from Shuah replied ⌞to Job⌟,

“How long will you say these things?
How long will your words be so windy?
Does God distort justice,
or does the Almighty distort righteousness?
If your children sinned against him,
he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.
If you search for God
and plead for mercy from the Almighty,
if you are moral and ethical,
then he will rise up on your behalf
and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.
Then what you had in the past will seem small
compared with the great prosperity you’ll have in the future.

Learn from Past Generations

“Ask the people of past generations.
Find out what their ancestors had learned.
We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
10 Won’t their words teach you?
Won’t they share their thoughts with you?

God Does Not Punish the Innocent Person

11 “Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp?
Can rushes grow tall without water?
12 Even if they were fresh and not cut,
they would wither quicker than grass.
13 The same thing happens to all who forget God.
The hope of the godless dies.
14 His confidence is easily shattered.
His trust is a spider’s web.
15 If one leans on his house, it collapses.
If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The shoots spread over his garden.
17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones.
They cling to a stone house.
18 But when it is uprooted from its place,
⌞the ground⌟ denies it ⌞and says⌟, ‘I never saw you!’
19 That 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.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with happy shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”

Defensa de la justicia

Bildad de Súaj respondió así:

¿Hasta cuándo hablarás de ese modo,
con el viento impetuoso de tus palabras?
¿Puede Dios trastocar el derecho,
pervertir la justicia el Todopoderoso?
Si tus hijos pecaron contra él,
ya los hizo cargar con su delito.
Mas si buscas cuanto antes a Dios,
si diriges tu súplica al Todopoderoso,
si eres honrado e intachable,
entonces se ocupará de ti,
te devolverá tu legítima heredad.
Tu pasado será insignificante
comparado con tu glorioso futuro.
Ve y pregunta a pasadas generaciones,
seguras en la experiencia de sus mayores.
Ayer nacimos, nada sabemos;
nuestra vida en este mundo es una sombra.
10 Pero ellos te enseñarán, te informarán
con máximas que brotan de su reflexión.
11 ¿Brota el papiro fuera de la marisma
o prosperan los juncos si falta el agua?
12 Todavía verdes, sin ser segados,
pueden agostarse antes que otra hierba.
13 Así acaba quien se olvida de Dios,
la esperanza del malvado sucumbe;
14 su confianza no es más que un hilo;
su seguridad, una tela de araña;
15 si se apoya en ella, no lo aguanta;
si se aferra a ella, no lo sostiene.
16 Como planta lozana a pleno sol,
sus tallos brotaban por el jardín;
17 sus raíces escalaban el muro,
se adherían firmes a las tapias.
18 Pero si es arrancada de su sitio,
este la niega: “Nunca te he visto”.
19 Así acabará su existencia,
otros brotarán en su lugar.
20 Pero Dios no rechaza al honrado,
ni tiende la mano al malvado.
21 Llenará de nuevo tu boca de risas,
tus labios gritarán jubilosos.
22 Tus enemigos quedarán avergonzados,
la tienda del malvado dejará de existir.

1-2 Are you finally through with your windy speech?
God never twists justice;
    he never fails to do what is right.
Your children must have sinned against God,
    and so he punished them as they deserved.
But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
    if you are so honest and pure,
    then God will come and help you
    and restore your household as your reward.
All the wealth you lost will be nothing
    compared with what God will give you then.

(A)Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;
    consider the truths our ancestors learned.
Our life is short, we know nothing at all;
    we pass like shadows across the earth.
10 But let the ancient wise people teach you;
    listen to what they had to say:

11 “Reeds can't grow where there is no water;
    they are never found outside a swamp.
12 If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,
    while still too small to be cut and used.
13 Godless people are like those reeds;
    their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
14 They trust a thread—a spider's web.
15     If they lean on a web, will it hold them up?
    If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”

16 Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun,
    like weeds that spread all through the garden.
17 Their roots wrap around the stones
    and hold fast to[a] every rock.
18 But then pull them up—
    no one will ever know they were there.
19 Yes, that's all the joy evil people have;
    others now come and take their places.

20 But God will never abandon the faithful
    or ever give help to evil people.
21 He will let you laugh and shout again,
22     but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you,
    and the homes of the wicked will vanish.

Footnotes

  1. Job 8:17 Probable text hold fast to; Hebrew see.