אִם־זַ֥ךְ וְיָשָׁ֗ר אָ֥תָּה כִּי־עַ֭תָּה יָעִ֣יר עָלֶ֑יךָ וְ֝שִׁלַּ֗ם נְוַ֣ת צִדְקֶֽךָ׃
또 청결하고 정직하면 정녕 너를 돌아보시고 네 의로운 집으로 형통하게 하실 것이라
Malbim
This being so, why indeed does God allow bad things to happen to good people? In answering this, Bildad adopts a different approach. According to his philosophy, God afflicts a righteous person without his having first sinned, only so that He can subsequently benefit him, by repaying him with good in exchange for the bad, many times over. The afflictions are part of a system of compensation and exchange, a quid pro quo whereby present adversity brings future bounty (Ch.8:6-7).2This is the view that Maimonides attributes to Bildad, noting that 'this opinion concerning Providence is widespread'. However, elsewhere (Guide III,24), he adds the rider that 'this principle is not mentioned in Scripture in plain language'. Even where the literal meaning appears to convey this, as in the verse 'Who fed you in the wilderness with manna…to test you, and in the end to make you prosper' (Deuteronomy 8:16), Maimonides explains the text differently.