The Meaning of Job 8:16 Explained

Job 8:16

KJV: He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.

YLT: Green he is before the sun, And over his garden his branch goeth out.

Darby: He is full of sap before the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden;

ASV: He is green before the sun, And his shoots go forth over his garden.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He [is] green  before  the sun,  and his branch  shooteth forth  in his garden. 

What does Job 8:16 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 8:16 mean?

Grows green He in the sun and in his garden his branches spread out
רָטֹ֣ב ה֭וּא לִפְנֵי־ שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וְעַ֥ל גַּ֝נָּת֗וֹ יֹֽנַקְתּ֥וֹ תֵצֵֽא

רָטֹ֣ב  Grows  green 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָטֹב  
Sense: moist, juicy, fresh.
שָׁ֑מֶשׁ  the  sun 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
וְעַ֥ל  and  in 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, 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.
גַּ֝נָּת֗וֹ  his  garden 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: גַּנָּה  
Sense: garden, orchard.
יֹֽנַקְתּ֥וֹ  his  branches 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄונֶקֶת  
Sense: young plant, twig, young shoot.
תֵצֵֽא  spread  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.