Job 8:12

King James Version:

(The Lord speaking is red text)

Whilst it [is] yet in his greenness, [and] not cut down, it withereth before any [other] herb.

Complete Jewish Bible:

While still green, before being cut down, it dries up faster than any other plant.

Berean Standard Bible:

While the shoots are still uncut, they dry up quicker than grass.

American Standard Version:

Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, It withereth before any other herb.

KJV with Strong’s Numbers:

Whilst it is yet in his greenness^{H3}, and not cut down^{H6998}, it withereth^{H3001} before^{H6440} any other herb^{H2682}.

Cross-References (KJV):

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Commentary for Job 8:12

Job 8:12 is a verse from the Book of Job, which is part of the Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. The Book of Job deals with the themes of human suffering, faith, and the nature of divine justice. It recounts the story of Job, a righteous man who loses everything—his wealth, his children, and his health—as a result of a celestial wager between God and Satan to test his faith.

In the context of the verse, Job is in the midst of a dialogue with his friends, who have come to "comfort" him in his misery. Bildad, one of Job's friends, speaks in chapter 8, asserting that God would not reject a blameless man and that Job's children must have sinned to deserve their fate. Bildad's argument is that the wicked suffer while the righteous prosper, a common belief among the contemporaries of Job.

The specific verse, Job 8:12, uses an agricultural metaphor to convey Bildad's perspective. The "greenness" refers to the prime of life or the peak of one's prosperity. Bildad suggests that even before a person's life is cut down (a euphemism for death), they can wither away, implying that Job's misfortunes are a sign of moral decay or sin, just as a plant might wither before it is harvested if it is not healthy. Bildad is essentially warning Job that his current state of suffering is a natural consequence of wrongdoing, and he should not expect to flourish again unless he admits to and repents of his supposed sins.

Historically, the Book of Job grapples with the problem of evil and the suffering of the innocent, challenging the simplistic retributive theology of the time, which held that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Job's experiences and his friends' responses reflect the ancient Near Eastern context where such theological debates were common. The verse, therefore, encapsulates the tension between the expectation of divine retribution and the reality of unexplained suffering, a tension that continues to resonate with readers throughout the ages.

*This commentary is produced by Microsoft/WizardLM-2-8x22B AI model

Strong's Numbers and Definitions:

Note: H = Hebrew (OT), G = Greek (NT)

1. Strong's Number: H3
   There are 18969 instances of this translation in the Bible
   Lemma: אֵב
   Transliteration: ʼêb
   Pronunciation: abe
   Description: from the same as אָבִיב; a green plant; greenness, fruit.
   
2. Strong's Number: H6998
   There are 5 instances of this translation in the Bible
   Lemma: קָטַף
   Transliteration: qâṭaph
   Pronunciation: kaw-taf'
   Description: a primitive root; to strip off; crop off, cut down (up), pluck.
   
3. Strong's Number: H3001
   There are 67 instances of this translation in the Bible
   Lemma: יָבֵשׁ
   Transliteration: yâbêsh
   Pronunciation: yaw-bashe'
   Description: a primitive root; to be ashamed, confused or disappointed; also (as failing) to dry up (as water) or wither (as herbage); be ashamed, clean, be confounded, (make) dry (up), (do) shame(-fully), [idiom] utterly, wither (away).
   
4. Strong's Number: H6440
   There are 1890 instances of this translation in the Bible
   Lemma: פָּנִים
   Transliteration: pânîym
   Pronunciation: paw-neem'
   Description: plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה; from פָּנָה); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.); [phrase] accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, [idiom] as (long as), at, [phrase] battle, [phrase] because (of), [phrase] beseech, countenance, edge, [phrase] employ, endure, [phrase] enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, [idiom] him(-self), [phrase] honourable, [phrase] impudent, [phrase] in, it, look(-eth) (-s), [idiom] me, [phrase] meet, [idiom] more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), [idiom] on, open, [phrase] out of, over against, the partial, person, [phrase] please, presence, propect, was purposed, by reason of, [phrase] regard, right forth, [phrase] serve, [idiom] shewbread, sight, state, straight, [phrase] street, [idiom] thee, [idiom] them(-selves), through ([phrase] -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), [phrase] upon, upside ([phrase] down), with(-in, [phrase] -stand), [idiom] ye, [idiom] you.
   
5. Strong's Number: H2682
   There are 20 instances of this translation in the Bible
   Lemma: חָצִיר
   Transliteration: châtsîyr
   Pronunciation: khaw-tseer'
   Description: perhaps originally the same as חָצִיר, from the greenness of a courtyard; grass; also a leek (collectively); grass, hay, herb, leek.