Job 18:1-21

Job 18:1-21 The Message (MSG)

Bildad from Shuhah chimed in: “How monotonous these word games are getting! Get serious! We need to get down to business. Why do you treat your friends like slow-witted animals? You look down on us as if we don’t know anything. Why are you working yourself up like this? Do you want the world redesigned to suit you? Should reality be suspended to accommodate you? “Here’s the rule: The light of the wicked is put out. Their flame dies down and is extinguished. Their house goes dark— every lamp in the place goes out. Their strong strides weaken, falter; they stumble into their own traps. They get all tangled up in their own red tape, Their feet are grabbed and caught, their necks in a noose. They trip on ropes they’ve hidden, and fall into pits they’ve dug themselves. Terrors come at them from all sides. They run dazed and confused. The hungry grave is ready to gobble them up for supper, To lay them out for a gourmet meal, a treat for ravenous Death. They are snatched from their home sweet home and marched straight to the death house. Their lives go up in smoke; acid rain soaks their ruins. Their roots rot and their branches wither. They’ll never again be remembered— nameless in unmarked graves. They are plunged from light into darkness, banished from the world. And they leave empty-handed—not one single child— nothing to show for their life on this earth. Westerners are aghast at their fate, easterners are horrified: ‘Oh no! So this is what happens to perverse people. This is how the God-ignorant end up!’”

Job 18:1-21 King James Version (KJV)

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long will it be ere ye make an end of words? Mark, and afterwards we will speak. Wherefore are we counted as beasts, And reputed vile in your sight? He teareth himself in his anger: Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? And shall the rock be removed out of his place? Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, And his candle shall be put out with him. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon a snare. The gin shall take him by the heel, And the robber shall prevail against him. The snare is laid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall drive him to his feet. His strength shall be hungerbitten, And destruction shall be ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of his skin: Even the firstborn of death shall devour his strength. His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, And it shall bring him to the king of terrors. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

Job 18:1-21 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Then Bildad the Shuhite responded, “How long will you hunt for words? Show understanding and then we can talk. Why are we regarded as beasts, As stupid in your eyes? O you who tear yourself in your anger— For your sake is the earth to be abandoned, Or the rock to be moved from its place? “Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out, And the flame of his fire gives no light. The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him. His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own scheme brings him down. For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing. A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him. A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the path. All around terrors frighten him, And harry him at every step. His strength is famished, And calamity is ready at his side. His skin is devoured by disease, The firstborn of death devours his limbs. He is torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of terrors. There dwells in his tent nothing of his; Brimstone is scattered on his habitation. His roots are dried below, And his branch is cut off above. Memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name abroad. He is driven from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world. He has no offspring or posterity among his people, Nor any survivor where he sojourned. Those in the west are appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Job 18:1-21 New Century Version (NCV)

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: “When will you stop these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk. You think of us as cattle, as if we are stupid. You tear yourself to pieces in your anger. Should the earth be vacant just for you? Should the rocks move from their places? “The lamp of the wicked will be put out, and the flame in their lamps will stop burning. The light in their tents will grow dark, and the lamps by their sides will go out. Their strong steps will grow weak; they will fall into their own evil traps. Their feet will be caught in a net when they walk into its web. A trap will catch them by the heel and hold them tight. A trap for them is hidden on the ground, right in their path. Terrible things startle them from every side and chase them at every step. Hunger takes away their strength, and disaster is at their side. Disease eats away parts of their skin; death gnaws at their arms and legs. They are torn from the safety of their tents and dragged off to Death, the King of Terrors. Their tents are set on fire, and sulfur is scattered over their homes. Their roots dry up below ground, and their branches die above ground. People on earth will not remember them; their names will be forgotten in the land. They will be driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world. They have no children or descendants among their people, and no one will be left alive where they once lived. People of the west will be shocked at what has happened to them, and people of the east will be very frightened. Surely this is what will happen to the wicked; such is the place of one who does not know God.”

Job 18:1-21 American Standard Version (ASV)

Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, How long will ye hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. Wherefore are we counted as beasts, And are become unclean in your sight? Thou that tearest thyself in thine anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for thee? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place? Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, And the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tent, And his lamp above him shall be put out. The steps of his strength shall be straitened, And his own counsel shall cast him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon the toils. A gin shall take him by the heel, And a snare shall lay hold on him. A noose is hid for him in the ground, And a trap for him in the way. Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, And shall chase him at his heels. His strength shall be hunger-bitten, And calamity shall be ready at his side. The members of his body shall be devoured, Yea, the first-born of death shall devour his members. He shall be rooted out of his tent wherein he trusteth; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors. There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his: Brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. His roots shall be dried up beneath, And above shall his branch be cut off. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, And he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He shall have neither son nor son’s son among his people, Nor any remaining where he sojourned. They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, And this is the place of him that knoweth not God.

Job 18:1-21 New International Version (NIV)

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk. Why are we regarded as cattle and considered stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place? “The lamp of a wicked man is snuffed out; the flame of his fire stops burning. The light in his tent becomes dark; the lamp beside him goes out. The vigor of his step is weakened; his own schemes throw him down. His feet thrust him into a net; he wanders into its mesh. A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare holds him fast. A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path. Terrors startle him on every side and dog his every step. Calamity is hungry for him; disaster is ready for him when he falls. It eats away parts of his skin; death’s firstborn devours his limbs. He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors. Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling. His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. The memory of him perishes from the earth; he has no name in the land. He is driven from light into the realm of darkness and is banished from the world. He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived. People of the west are appalled at his fate; those of the east are seized with horror. Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man; such is the place of one who does not know God.”

Job 18:1-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: “How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak. Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place? “The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine. The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out. The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare. The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him. A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road. Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet. His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side. It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs. He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors. They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling. His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above. The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned. He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world. He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings. Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Job 18:1-21 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said, “How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches? Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk. “Why are we regarded as beasts, As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes? “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? ¶“Indeed, the light of the wicked will be put out, And the flame of his fire will not shine. [Prov 13:9; 24:20] “The light will be dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him will be put out. [Ps 18:28] “The vigorous stride will be shortened, And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall. “For the wicked is thrown into a net by his own feet (wickedness), And he steps on the webbing [of the lattice-covered pit]. “A snare catches him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him. “A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him on the path. “Terrors frighten him on every side And chase at his heels. “The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened, And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops]. “His skin is devoured by disease; The firstborn of death [the worst of diseases] consumes his limbs. “He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety], And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death). “Nothing of his dwells in his tent; Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it]. “The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below, And above, his branch is cut off and withers. “Memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name on the street. “He is driven and propelled from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world. “He has no offspring or prosperity among his people, Nor any survivor where he sojourned. “Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror. “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.”

Job 18:1-21 New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: “How long before you stop talking? Speak sense if you want us to answer! Do you think we are mere animals? Do you think we are stupid? You may tear out your hair in anger, but will that destroy the earth? Will it make the rocks tremble? “Surely the light of the wicked will be snuffed out. The sparks of their fire will not glow. The light in their tent will grow dark. The lamp hanging above them will be quenched. The confident stride of the wicked will be shortened. Their own schemes will be their downfall. The wicked walk into a net. They fall into a pit. A trap grabs them by the heel. A snare holds them tight. A noose lies hidden on the ground. A rope is stretched across their path. “Terrors surround the wicked and trouble them at every step. Hunger depletes their strength, and calamity waits for them to stumble. Disease eats their skin; death devours their limbs. They are torn from the security of their homes and are brought down to the king of terrors. The homes of the wicked will burn down; burning sulfur rains on their houses. Their roots will dry up, and their branches will wither. All memory of their existence will fade from the earth; no one will remember their names. They will be thrust from light into darkness, driven from the world. They will have neither children nor grandchildren, nor any survivor in the place where they lived. People in the west are appalled at their fate; people in the east are horrified. They will say, ‘This was the home of a wicked person, the place of one who rejected God.’”

Job 18:1-21 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: “How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and then we will speak. Why are we counted as cattle? Why are we stupid in your sight? You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you, or the rock be removed out of its place? “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire does not shine. The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out. His strong steps are shortened, and his own schemes throw him down. For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walks on its mesh. A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare lays hold of him. A rope is hidden for him in the ground, a trap for him in the path. Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his heels. His strength is famished, and calamity is ready for his stumbling. It consumes the parts of his skin; the firstborn of death consumes his limbs. He is torn from the tent in which he trusted and is brought to the king of terrors. In his tent dwells that which is none of his; sulfur is scattered over his habitation. His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above. His memory perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the street. He is thrust from light into darkness, and driven out of the world. He has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live. They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God.”