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1 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said: 2 How long wilt thou speak such things? How long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind? 3 Will God pervert judgment? Or will the Almighty pervert justice? 4 As thy children sinned against him, He hath given them up to their transgression. 5 But if thou wilt seek early to God, And make thy supplication to the Almighty,— 6 If thou wilt be pure and upright, Surely he will yet arise for thee, And prosper thy righteous habitation; 7 So that thy beginning shall be small, And thy latter end very great. 8 For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And mark what hath been searched out by their fathers; 9 (For we are of yesterday and know nothing, Since our days upon the earth are but a shadow;) 10 Will not they instruct thee, and tell thee, And utter words from their understanding? 11 “Can the paper-reed grow up without mire? Can the bulrush grow without water? 12 While it is yet in its greenness, and is not cut down, It withereth before any other herb. 13 Such is the fate of all who forget God; So perisheth the hope of the ungodly. 14 His confidence shall come to nought, And his trust shall prove a spider's web. 15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; He shall lay fast hold on it, but it shall not endure. 16 He is in full green before the sun, And his branches shoot forth over his garden; 17 His roots are entwined about the heap, And he seeth the place of stones; 18 When he shall be destroyed from his place, It shall deny him, saying, 'I never saw thee.' 19 Lo! such is the joy of his course! And others shall spring up from his place” 20 Behold, God will not cast away an upright man; Nor will he help the evil-doers. 21 While he filleth thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with gladness, 22 They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame, And the dwelling-place of the wicked shall come to nought.