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General Information:

It is unclear if this verse is the teaching of Bildad, or if Bildad is quoting the sayings of the ancestors of Job 8:8-10.

Can papyrus grow without a marsh? Can reeds grow without water?

Bildad uses these two parallel questions to emphasize the single point that people cannot live without God. Here the plants represent people and the water represents God. The questions can be translated as statements. Alternate translation: "Papyrus plants cannot grow away from the marshes. Reeds cannot grow without water." (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)

papyrus

a tall reed-like plant that grows in shallow water