The Meaning of Job 36:8 Explained

Job 36:8

KJV: And if they be bound in fetters, and be holden in cords of affliction;

YLT: And if prisoners in fetters They are captured with cords of affliction,

Darby: And if, bound in fetters, they be held in cords of affliction,

ASV: And if they be bound in fetters, And be taken in the cords of afflictions;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And if [they be] bound  in fetters,  [and] be holden  in cords  of affliction; 

What does Job 36:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 36:1-33 - He Despiseth Not Any
God is mighty, but He does not despise thee, though thou be the least of saints. His eyes are upon thee for good, and He will set thee before His throne forever. He will stoop to thy low dungeon, whispering instruction to thine ear and commanding thee to return. There are broad places before thee in which there shall be no straitness; tables await thee full of fatness. Thy path leads from thy present prison-house into liberty and light.
Remember the unsearchable numbers of His years. Behold the wonderful machinery by which He collects from ocean, lake, and stream the clouds which, like floating cisterns, carry the waters to be bleached in the snow of the hills, and oxidized in the torrent beds! There is more love than terror in creation. Nature's myriad voices proclaim with Scripture, "God is love." He cannot, therefore, be indifferent to the righteous man or neglect him. He may discipline him to make him hate sin; but, when this end is attained, He will assuredly withdraw His rod, Job 36:10-11. [source]

Chapter Summary: Job 36

1  Elihu shows how God is just in his ways
16  How Job's sins hinder God's blessings
24  God's works are to be magnified

What do the individual words in Job 36:8 mean?

And if [they are] bound in fetters Held in the cords of affliction
וְאִם־ אֲסוּרִ֥ים בַּזִּקִּ֑ים יִ֝לָּכְד֗וּן בְּחַבְלֵי־ עֹֽנִי

וְאִם־  And  if 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: אִם  
Sense: if.
אֲסוּרִ֥ים  [they  are]  bound 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine plural
Root: אָסַר  
Sense: to tie, bind, imprison.
בַּזִּקִּ֑ים  in  fetters 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: זִיקֹות 
Sense: spark, missile, firebrand, flaming arrow.
יִ֝לָּכְד֗וּן  Held 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: לָכַד  
Sense: to capture, take, seize.
בְּחַבְלֵי־  in  the  cords 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חֶבֶל 
Sense: a cord, rope, territory, band, company.
עֹֽנִי  of  affliction 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֳנִי  
Sense: affliction, poverty, misery.