Job 18
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 “How long until you end these speeches? Show some sense, and then we can talk.
3 Why are we regarded as cattle, as stupid in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
5 Indeed, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; the flame of his fire does not glow.
6 The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.
7 His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
8 For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh.
9 A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.
10 A noose is hidden in the ground, and a trap lies in his path.
11 Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.
12 His strength is depleted, and calamity is ready at his side.
13 It devours patches of his skin; the firstborn of death devours his limbs.
14 He is torn from the shelter of his tent and is marched off to the king of terrors.
15 Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur rains down on his dwelling.
16 The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
17 The memory of him perishes from the earth, and he has no name in the land.
18 He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has no offspring or posterity among his people, no survivor where he once lived.
20 Those in the west are appalled at his fate, while those in the east tremble in horror.
21 Surely such is the dwelling of the wicked and the place of one who does not know God.”
22 For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.
23 And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
24 So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.
25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
26 to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.
27 For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.
28 For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.
29 For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.
33 He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.
34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.
36 You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
38 I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.
39 You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
42 I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.
44 When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.
45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—
47 the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,
48 who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
49 Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.
50 Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.