The Meaning of Job 8:13 Explained

Job 8:13

KJV: So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:

YLT: So are the paths of all forgetting God, And the hope of the profane doth perish,

Darby: So are the paths of all that forget God; and the profane man's hope shall perish,

ASV: So are the paths of all that forget God; And the hope of the godless man shall perish:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So [are] the paths  of all that forget  God;  and the hypocrite's  hope  shall perish: 

What does Job 8:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 8:1-22 - God Will Not Cast Away
Bildad now takes up the argument, appealing to the experience of former generations to show that special suffering, like Job's, indicated special sin, however deeply concealed. He feels that God could not pervert judgment, and that the sudden destruction of Job's children proved that they had transgressed.
Job 8:11-13 are probably quoted from an old poem, embodying the sententious observation of some older generation, which compared the ungodly to the rapid growth and more rapid destruction of the papyrus plant. Job 8:14-15 compare the state of the ungodly to the slight fabric of the spider's web, fine-spun, flimsy, and insecure. Job 8:16-19 employ yet another comparison-that of the weeds, which grow to rank luxuriance, spreading over heaps of stones and even walls, which they are figuratively said to see in the distance and creep toward; the very earth is ashamed of them, as presently they lie withered on the path. But notice the assurances that God will uphold all those who return to Him. Be of good cheer; thou shalt yet praise Him! [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 8

1  Bildad shows God's justice in dealing with men according to their works
8  He alleges antiquity to prove the certain destruction of the hypocrite
20  He applies God's just dealing to Job

What do the individual words in Job 8:13 mean?

So [are] the paths of all who forget God and the hope of the hypocrite shall perish
כֵּ֗ן אָ֭רְחוֹת כָּל־ שֹׁ֣כְחֵי אֵ֑ל וְתִקְוַ֖ת חָנֵ֣ף תֹּאבֵֽד

כֵּ֗ן  So 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
אָ֭רְחוֹת  [are]  the  paths 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: אֹרַח  
Sense: way, path.
כָּל־  of  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
שֹׁ֣כְחֵי  who  forget 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
אֵ֑ל  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
וְתִקְוַ֖ת  and  the  hope 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תִּקְוָה 
Sense: cord.
חָנֵ֣ף  of  the  hypocrite 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָנֵף 
Sense: hypocritical, godless, profane, hypocrite, irreligious.
תֹּאבֵֽד  shall  perish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.