Bildad Speaks of the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
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“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?
Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.
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“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes?
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“You who tear yourself apart in anger,
Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake,
Or the rock to be moved out of its place?
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“Indeed, the light of the wicked will be put out,
And the flame of his fire will not shine.(A)
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“The light will be dark in his tent,
And his lamp beside him will be put out.(B)
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“The vigorous stride will be shortened,
And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall.
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“For the wicked is thrown into a net by his own feet (wickedness),
And he steps on the webbing [of the lattice-covered pit].
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“A snare catches him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
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“A noose is hidden for him on the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.
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“Terrors frighten him on every side
And chase at his heels.
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“The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened,
And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops].
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“His skin is devoured by disease;
The firstborn of death [the worst of diseases] consumes his limbs.
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“He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety],
And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death).
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“Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it].
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“The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below,
And above, his branch is cut off and withers.
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“Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name on the street.
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“He is driven and propelled from light into darkness,
And chased from the inhabited world.
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“He has no offspring or prosperity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
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“Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.
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“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”