| 1 Bildad de Súaj respondió así: | 1 But Baldad the Suhite, responding, said: |
| 2 «¿Hasta cuándo hablarás de ese modo, | con el fuerte viento de tus palabras? | 2 How long will you speak this way, so that the words of your mouth are like a changeable wind? |
| 3 ¿Puede Dios retorcer el derecho, | el Todopoderoso pervertir la justicia? | 3 Does God supplant judgment, or does the Almighty subvert that which is just? |
| 4 Si tus hijos pecaron contra él, | ya los ha entregado en manos de su delito. | 4 And if now your children have sinned against him, and he has dismissed them into the power of their iniquity, |
| 5 Mas si madrugas y buscas a Dios, | si diriges tu súplica al Todopoderoso, | 5 even so, you should arise early to God, so as to beseech the Almighty. |
| 6 si eres intachable y recto, | entonces velará por ti, | te devolverá tu legítima morada. | 6 If you approach with purity and honesty, he will quickly be attentive to you, and a peaceful life will repay your righteousness, |
| 7 Tu pasado será una miseria | si lo comparas con tu espléndido futuro. | 7 so much so that, if your former things were small, your latter things would be multiplied greatly. |
| 8 Anda, y pregunta a pasadas generaciones, | medita en lo que descubrieron sus padres; | 8 For inquire of the earliest generation, and investigate diligently the history of the fathers, |
| 9 ayer nacimos, nada sabemos; | nuestra vida en la tierra es una sombra. | 9 (of course, we are but of yesterday and are ignorant that our days on earth are like a shadow,) |
| 10 Pero ellos te instruirán, te informarán | con palabras que manan de su reflexión. | 10 and they will teach you; they will speak with you and will offer you the eloquence of their hearts. |
| 11 ¿Brota el papiro donde no hay marisma?, | ¿prosperan los juncos fuera del agua? | 11 Can the marsh plant live without moisture? Or can sedges grow without water? |
| 12 Todavía verde, sin ser cortado, | puede amustiarse antes que otra planta. | 12 When it is still in flower, and has not been pulled up by hand, it withers before all other plants. |
| 13 Así termina quien olvida a Dios; | en esto acaba la esperanza del impío. | 13 Just so are the ways of all who forget God, and the hope of the hypocrite will perish. |
| 14 Su confianza solo es un hilo, | tan segura como una telaraña; | 14 His frenzy will not please him, and his faith will be like a spider’s web. |
| 15 se apoya en ella y no se sostiene, | se agarra a ella y no se levanta. | 15 He will lean on his house, and it will not stand; he will prop it up, but it will not rise. |
| 16 Planta lozana a pleno sol, | sus brotes llenaban el jardín; | 16 He seems to have moisture before the sun arrives; and at sunrise, his sprout shoots forth. |
| 17 sus raíces subían por el muro, | se adherían firmes entre piedras. | 17 His roots will crowd together over a heap of stones, and among the stones he will remain. |
| 18 Pero si es arrancada de su sitio, | este reniega de ella: “Nunca te he visto”. | 18 If someone is devoured right beside him, he will deny him and will say: “I do not know you.” |
| 19 Así acabará su vida, | otros brotarán en su lugar. | 19 For this is the benefit of his way, that others in turn may spring up from the earth. |
| 20 Pero Dios no rechaza al honrado, | ni sostiene de la mano al malvado. | 20 God will not discard the simple, nor will he extend his hand to the spiteful, |
| 21 Volverá a llenar tu boca de risas, | tus labios lanzarán gritos de alegría. | 21 even until your mouth is filled with laughter and your lips with rejoicing. |
| 22 Tus enemigos quedarán confundidos, | la tienda del malvado ya no existirá». | 22 Those who hate you, will be clothed with confusion, and the tabernacle of the impious will not continue. |
