Job 8: Bildad Speaks

Bildad the Shuhite answers Job. He asks whether God perverts justice and tells Job to seek God diligently. He says that if Job were pure and upright, God would restore him. He tells Job to ask past generations and compares the godless to papyrus that withers without water. He says God will not cast away a blameless man. Bildad assumes Job's suffering proves sin, but God later says the friends did not speak what is right (42:7).

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Bible:

Read Job 8

World English Bible · 22 verses

¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
² “How long will you speak these things? Shall the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
³ Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁴ If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their disobedience.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁵ If you want to seek God diligently, make your supplication to the Almighty.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁶ If you were pure and upright, surely now he would awaken for you, and make the habitation of your righteousness prosperous.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁷ Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would greatly increase.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁸ “Please inquire of past generations. Find out about the learning of their fathers.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
⁹ (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days on earth are a shadow.)This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁰ Shall they not teach you, tell you, and utter words out of their heart?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹¹ “Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹² While it is yet in its greenness, not cut down, it withers before any other reed.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹³ So are the paths of all who forget God. The hope of the godless man will perish,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁴ whose confidence will break apart, whose trust is a spider’s web.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁵ He will lean on his house, but it will not stand. He will cling to it, but it will not endure.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁶ He is green before the sun. His shoots go out along his garden.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁷ His roots are wrapped around the rock pile. He sees the place of stones.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁸ If he is destroyed from his place, then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
¹⁹ Behold, this is the joy of his way. Out of the earth, others will spring.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²⁰ “Behold, God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²¹ He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked will be no more.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.

Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org

Worksheets

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Open Preschool on its own page

Job 8 · Preschool

Plants Need Water

Name Date

Color the tall plants by the water! Plants need water to grow.

Can you find these in the picture? Circle each one!

Bible Verse

“Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water?

Job 8:11 (WEB)

Prayer

Thank You, God, for making me!

Take It Home

Read the verse aloud. Say: Plants need water to grow. We need God to grow strong too. Job's friend Bildad said this, but some of his other words were not right.

Open Grade 4 on its own page

Job 8 · Grade 4

Bildad and the Withering Plant

Name Date

Read and Think

Bildad the Shuhite was blunter than Eliphaz. He called Job's words a mighty wind and asked whether God perverts justice. Bildad was right that God is just. But he went further and suggested that Job's children had sinned and been given over to their disobedience, a cruel and mistaken claim.

Bildad urged Job to seek God diligently and make supplication to the Almighty. If Job were pure and upright, God would restore him, and though his beginning was small, his latter end would greatly increase. Bildad believed that Job's trouble proved Job was not pure.

Bildad appealed to the wisdom of past generations. Papyrus cannot grow without mire, and it withers before other reeds. So, he said, are the paths of all who forget God. He ended by saying God will not cast away a blameless man. In Job 42:7 God says the friends had not spoken of Him what is right.

Show What You Know

What was Bildad right about?
What cruel and mistaken claim did Bildad make?
What did Bildad say would happen if Job were pure and upright?
What did Bildad compare to papyrus without mire?

Word Bank Fill-In

Use the word bank to fill in each blank.

BildadPapyrusGod

the Shuhite was blunter than Eliphaz.
Bildad was right that is just.
cannot grow without mire, and it withers before other reeds.

Think About It

Bildad was right that God is just but wrong about Job. How can we hold to God's justice without judging people quickly?
Bildad said to seek God diligently. What does seeking God look like in your life?

Memory Verse

“Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?”

Job 8:3 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for being fair and good. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

How can you listen to a friend's own story before judging?
How can you pray for a friend instead of judging them?

Open Grade 5 on its own page

Job 8 · Grade 5

Does God Pervert Justice?

Name Date

Read and Think

Bildad the Shuhite answers with impatience. How long will you speak these things? Shall the words of your mouth be a mighty wind? His central question is right in itself: Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness? But Bildad draws a harsh conclusion. If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their disobedience. The reader knows from chapter 1 that Job's children died in a test Job knew nothing about.

Bildad's counsel follows the same formula as Eliphaz. If you want to seek God diligently, make your supplication to the Almighty. If you were pure and upright, surely now he would awaken for you. Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would greatly increase. Ironically, Job's latter end will increase, but not because Bildad's diagnosis was right.

Bildad points Job to the wisdom of past generations. Can the papyrus grow up without mire? Can the rushes grow without water? Such plants wither quickly, and so does the hope of the godless, which is like a spider's web. He concludes, Behold, God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers. Bildad's words contain truth, but his use of them is wrong, and in Job 42:7 God says the friends have not spoken of Him the thing that is right.

Show What You Know

What is Bildad's central question?
What harsh conclusion does Bildad draw about Job's children?
What is ironic about Bildad's promise that Job's latter end would increase?
What does Bildad compare the hope of the godless to?
What does God say about the friends in Job 42:7?

Crossword

Across

He will still fill your mouth with ____
Can the rushes grow without ____

Down

The Shuhite who spoke second
Can the ____ grow up without mire
Does God pervert ____

Think About It

Bildad used a true belief about God's justice to wound a grieving father. How can you make sure your theology is used with love?
Bildad pointed to past generations. What have older believers taught you about trusting God?

Memory Verse

“Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?”

Job 8:3 (WEB)

Copy It

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for being fair and good. Help me . Amen.

Take It Home

For families: talk about these together.

What can you say to comfort someone who lost something?
How can a true belief about God be used in the wrong way?
What is one way you could live out this chapter this week?

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‹ All Job chapters · All books

Job 8: Bildad Speaks

Read Job 8

Worksheets

Plants Need Water

Prayer

Take It Home

Plants Need Water

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

Mini Maze

Draw It

Prayer

Take It Home

Bildad Talks

Trace the Words

Match the Pictures

Bildad Speaks

Prayer

Take It Home

Bildad's Words

Read the Story

Show What You Know

Word Search

Prayer

Take It Home

Can the Papyrus Grow?

Read the Story

Answer the Questions

Bildad Speaks

Word Search

Prayer

Take It Home

Bildad and the Withering Plant

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Word Bank Fill-In

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

Does God Pervert Justice?

Read and Think

Show What You Know

Crossword

Think About It

Copy It

Prayer

Take It Home

More print options