English Standard Version
Job 8:12
12While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant.
Job 8:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.
- New International Version (NIV)While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass.
- New King James Version (NKJV)While it is yet green and not cut down, It withers before any other plant.
- New Living Translation (NLT)While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
Context of Job 8:12
10Will they not teach you and tell you and utter words out of their understanding? 11"Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down, they wither before any other plant. 13Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish. 14His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider's web.
Read all of Job 8Job 8:12 word by word
עֹדֶ֣נּוּ בְ֭אִבּוֹ לֹ֣א יִקָּטֵ֑ף וְלִפְנֵ֖י כָל־חָצִ֣יר יִיבָֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 8:12
- Psalms 129:6Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
- Jeremiah 17:6He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
- Matthew 13:20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
- James 1:10and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.
- 1 Peter 1:24for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,
Commentaries on Job 8:12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Whilst it is yet in his greenness - We do not know enough of the natural history of this plant to be able to discern the strength of this allusion; but we learn from it that, although this plant be very succulent, and grow to a great size, yet it is short-lived, and speedily withers; and this we may suppose to be in the dry season, or on the retreat of the waters of the Nile. However, Soon Ripe, soon Rotten, is a maxim in horticulture.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Whilst it is yet in his greenness - That is, while it seems to be in its vigor. And is not cut down - Even when it is not cut down. If suffered to stand by itself, and if undisturbed, it will wither away. The application of this is obvious and beautiful. Such plants have no self sustaining power. They are dependent on moisture for their support. If that is withheld, they droop and die. So with the prosperous sinner and the hypocrite. His piety, compared…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-19Verses 8-19 Bildad discourses well of hypocrites and evil-doers, and the fatal end of all their hopes and joys. He proves this truth of the destruction of the hopes and joys of hypocrites, by an appeal to former times. Bildad refers to the testimony of the ancients. Those teach best that utter words out of their heart, that speak from an experience of spiritual and divine things. A rush growing in fenny ground, looking very green, but withering in dry…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-13To forget God means behaving as if God does not exist or cannot see (see Psalms 10:4; 14:1; Zephaniah 1:12; see Job 22:13–17; Psalm 94:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. not cut down--Before it has ripened for the scythe, it withers more suddenly than any herb, having no self-sustaining power, once that the moisture is gone, which other herbs do not need in the same degree. So ruin seizes on the godless in the zenith of prosperity, more suddenly than on others who appear less firmly seated in their possessions [Umbreit] (Psa 112:10).Read the comment
Topics related to Job 8:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries