The Meaning of Job 17:8 Explained

Job 17:8

KJV: Upright men shall be astonied at this, and the innocent shall stir up himself against the hypocrite.

YLT: Astonished are the upright at this, And the innocent against the profane Stirreth himself up.

Darby: Upright men shall be astonished at this, and the innocent shall be stirred up against the ungodly;

ASV: Upright men shall be astonished at this, And the innocent shall stir up himself against the godless.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Upright  [men] shall be astonied  at this, and the innocent  shall stir up  himself against the hypocrite. 

What does Job 17:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 17:1-16 - "the Bars Of Sheol"
Job's continued complaint of his friends, Job 17:1-9
He avows that he could bear his awful calamities if only he were delivered from their mockery; and asks that God would arbitrate between him and them. God is the supreme Judge, and Job asks Him to become his surety against the recriminations of those who so shamefully misjudged him. There is no other course for hunted souls than appeal from man to God in the person of Jesus. At the close of this paragraph he insists that amid a whirlwind of trouble the righteous must hold on his way and keep his hands clean. If any should read these words whose path has dipped down into the valley of the shadow, let them hold on their way. Go on doing the will of God, so far as you know it, and it will bring you out under His heaven of love.
Job's gloomy anticipations of the future, Job 17:10-16
For him there was a grave of darkness and gloom. Men had not as yet been begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The soul must descend to the bars of Sheol, Job 17:16, r.v. What a contrast to our Christian hope! There is no need for us to claim the pit for father and the worm for sister! In the Father's house are many mansions. The sufferings of the present are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed! Our kin are not in the dust. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 17

1  Job appeals from men to God
6  The unmerciful dealing of men with the afflicted may astonish,
9  but not discourage the righteous
11  His hope is not in life, but in death

What do the individual words in Job 17:8 mean?

Are astonished Upright [men] at this and the innocent against the hypocrite stirs up himself
יָשֹׁ֣מּוּ יְשָׁרִ֣ים עַל־ זֹ֑את וְ֝נָקִ֗י עַל־ חָנֵ֥ף יִתְעֹרָֽר

יָשֹׁ֣מּוּ  Are  astonished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.
יְשָׁרִ֣ים  Upright  [men] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
עַל־  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
זֹ֑את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
וְ֝נָקִ֗י  and  the  innocent 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: נָקִי 
Sense: clean, free from, exempt, clear, innocent.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
חָנֵ֥ף  the  hypocrite 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָנֵף 
Sense: hypocritical, godless, profane, hypocrite, irreligious.
יִתְעֹרָֽר  stirs  up  himself 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.