[1] Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, [2] “How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches? Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk. [3] Why are we regarded as beasts, As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes? [4] 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? [5] “Indeed, the light of the wicked will be put out, And the flame of his fire will not shine. [6] The light will be dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him will be put out. [7] The vigorous stride will be shortened, And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall. [8] For the wicked is thrown into a net by his own feet (wickedness), And he steps on the webbing [of the lattice-covered pit]. [9] A snare catches him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him. [10] A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him on the path. [11] Terrors frighten him on every side And chase at his heels. [12] The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened, And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops]. [13] His skin is devoured by disease; The firstborn of death [the worst of diseases] consumes his limbs. [14] He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety], And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death). [15] Nothing of his dwells in his tent; Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it]. [16] The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below, And above, his branch is cut off and withers. [17] Memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name on the street. [18] He is driven and propelled from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world. [19] He has no offspring or prosperity among his people, Nor any survivor where he sojourned. [20] Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror. [21] 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.”
