The Meaning of Job 8:6 Explained

Job 8:6

KJV: If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

YLT: If pure and upright thou art, Surely now He waketh for thee, And hath completed The habitation of thy righteousness.

Darby: If thou be pure and upright, surely now he will awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous;

ASV: If thou wert pure and upright: Surely now he would awake for thee, And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If thou [wert] pure  and upright;  surely now he would awake  for thee, and make the habitation  of thy righteousness  prosperous. 

What does Job 8:6 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 8:6 mean?

If pure and upright you [were] surely now He would awake for you and prosper dwelling place your rightful
אִם־ זַ֥ךְ וְיָשָׁ֗ר אָ֥תָּה כִּי־ עַ֭תָּה יָעִ֣יר עָלֶ֑יךָ וְ֝שִׁלַּ֗ם נְוַ֣ת צִדְקֶֽךָ

זַ֥ךְ  pure 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זַךְ  
Sense: clean, pure.
וְיָשָׁ֗ר  and  upright 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשָׁר 
Sense: straight, upright, correct, right.
אָ֥תָּה  you  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, second person masculine singular
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
כִּי־  surely 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
עַ֭תָּה  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
יָעִ֣יר  He  would  awake 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עוּר 
Sense: to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite.
עָלֶ֑יךָ  for  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
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.
וְ֝שִׁלַּ֗ם  and  prosper 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֵם  
Sense: .
נְוַ֣ת  dwelling  place 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: נָוֶה 
Sense: abode, habitation, abode of shepherds or flocks, pasture.
צִדְקֶֽךָ  your  rightful 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.