Job 18 · a question people ask
Is Bildad talking about Job?
Bildad is answering Job (18:1). In 18:2-4 he says you: "How long will you hunt for words?" (18:2), and "You who tear yourself in your anger" (18:4). In Hebrew the you of 18:2 and 18:3 is plural, and the you of "will the earth be forsaken for you?" (18:4) is singular. From 18:5 to 18:21 he speaks only of "the wicked" (18:5) and "him who doesn’t know God" (18:21), and he doesn't name Job. Some of the words sit beside what the book told you of Job's losses: "He will have neither son nor grandson among his people" (18:19), after the messenger told Job that the house fell "on the young men, and they are dead" (1:19). Job's next words are to the friends: "How long will you torment me, and crush me with words?" (19:2), and "You have reproached me ten times" (19:3). The chapter doesn't say what Bildad intended, and these notes don't supply it.
The verses
“Then Bildad the Shuhite answered, “How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak. Why are we counted as animals, which have become unclean in your sight? You who tear yourself in your anger, will the earth be forsaken for you? Or will the rock be removed out of its place?”
““Yes, the light of the wicked will be put out. The spark of his fire won’t shine.”
“Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn’t know God.””
“He will have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he lived.”