Job 8:12

Job 8:12 Whilst it [is] yet in his greenness, [and] not cut down, it withereth before any [other] herb.

Ver. 12. Whilst it is yet in his greenness, &c.] And so withereth not through age, as being but in its shooting up.

And not cut down] Or, cropped off, either by the hands of men or teeth of beasts.

It withereth] For want of water, without store whereof it cannot live. The hypocrite is a sensualist, Jdg 18:19 Job 21:11 Hos 4:11; he liveth in such miry places as cannot be healed by the waters of the sanctuary, Eze 47:11. He saith, as the vine and the olive in Jotham’s parable, I cannot leave my wine, my fat and sweet sins; take away my liquor, you take away my life. He serveth not the Lord Jesus Christ (whatever he pretendeth), but his own belly, Rom 16:17-18. He followeth Christ for the loaves only.

Before any other herb] That is, of less show, but better rooting. These retain their verdure, and look on, as it were, to see the rush wither: so David did by Doeg, Psa 52:5-6; Psa 52:8.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:12-13 To forget God does not mean to have a lapse of memory but to act as if God did not exist (see Pss 10:4; 14:1; Zeph 1:12) or cannot see (see Job 22:13-17; Ps 94:7).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

not cut down--Before it has ripened for the scythe, it withers more suddenly than any herb, having no self-sustaining power, once that the moisture is gone, which other herbs do not need in the same degree. So ruin seizes on the godless in the zenith of prosperity, more suddenly than on others who appear less firmly seated in their possessions [UMBREIT] (Psa 112:10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. Whilst it is yet in his greenness] We do not know enough of the natural history of this plant to be able to discern the strength of this allusion; but we learn from it that, although this plant be very succulent, and grow to a great size, yet it is short-lived, and speedily withers; and this we may suppose to be in the dry season, or on the retreat of the waters of the Nile. However, Soon RIPE, soon ROTTEN, is a maxim in horticulture.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. and not cut down] lit. and not to be cut down (or, plucked, ch. Job_30:4), that is, in its full luxuriance, not ripe nor ready for cutting, and therefore with no trace of withering or decay in it. In this state of full freshness, when water is withdrawn from it, it sinks and collapses, withering sooner than any herb.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So are the paths of all that forget God,.... Who forget that there is a God; he is not in all, and scarce in any of their thoughts, and they live without him in the world; who forget the works of God, of creation and providence, in which there is a glorious display of his being and perfections; who forget the benefits and blessings of his goodness they are every day partakers of, and are not thankful for them; and who forget the word, worship, and ordinances of God, and follow after and observe lying vanities, idols, and the works of men's hands, and worship them, being unmindful of the rock of their salvation: now such men, as well as the hypocrites in the next clause, are like bulrushes and flags, or sedge, being unfruitful, useless, and unprofitable; and, for their sensuality and worldly mindedness, standing in the mire and clay of an unregenerate state, and of carnal and worldly lusts; and though, especially the latter, may carry their heads high in a profession of religion, and make a fair show in the flesh while it is a time of outward prosperity with them, but when tribulation arises on the account of religion, they are presently offended, and apostatize; being destitute of the true grace of God, and having the root of the matter in them, they wither of themselves; they soon drop their profession in the view of all good men, comparable to herbs and green grass, which abide in their verdure, when the other are gone and are seen no more:

and the hypocrite's hope shall perish; who are either the same with those before described, who, being in prosperous circumstances, forget the God of their mercies they make a profession of, like Jeshurun of old, or different persons, as Bar Tzemach thinks, the former designing open profane sinners, these secret ones, under the appearance of good men: an "hypocrite" is one whose inside is not as his outside, as the Jews say; who is outwardly righteous, but inwardly wicked; has a form of godliness, but not the power of it; a name to live, but dead; that makes a show of religion and devotion, attending the worship and ordinances of God in an external way, as if he had great delight in him and them, when his heart is removed far from him: and such have their "hope", for the present, of being in the favour of God, and of future happiness, which is founded on their outward prosperity their esteem among men, and more especially their external righteousness, and profession of religion; but this will "perish", even both the ground of their hope, the riches and righteousness, which come to nothing, and the hope that is built thereupon sinks into despair; if not in life, as it sometimes does, yet always at death, see Job 11:20; Bildad seems to have Job in view here, whom he esteemed an hypocrite.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Whilst it is yet in his greenness - That is, while it seems to be in its vigor.

And is not cut down - Even when it is not cut down. If suffered to stand by itself, and if undisturbed, it will wither away. The application of this is obvious and beautiful. Such plants have no self sustaining power. They are dependent on moisture for their support. If that is withheld, they droop and die. So with the prosperous sinner and the hypocrite. His piety, compared with that which is genuine, is like the spongy texture of the paper-reed compared with the solid oak. He is sustained in his professed religion by outward prosperity, as the rush is nourished by moisture; and the moment his prosperity is withdrawn, his religion droops and dies like the flag without water.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Herbs, for want of moisture. (Calmet) --- Sic transit gloria mundi. (Haydock) --- The prophets often compare the prosperity of the wicked to grass, (Psalm xxxvi. 2., and James i. 10.) and Baldad ranks Job with them.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Yet in his greenness; whereby it promiseth long continuance.

Not cut down; though no man cut it down, it withereth of itself, and will save a man the labour of cutting or plucking it up. It gives not a man so much warning that he can cut it down in time, as other green herbs do, but suddenly withereth.

Before any other herb, i.e. sooner than other herbs, or in their presence, or they surviving; in which sense it seems to be said that Ishmael died in the presence of his brethren, Gen 25:18; the rest of the herbs looking upon it, and admiring this sudden change. For actions of sense and understanding are oft ascribed to lifeless creatures, both in Scripture and other authors.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. It withereth — Our translators have disregarded the (in this case) important ו: while yet it is in its greenness, it is uncut, (and) THEN, sooner than all (other) grass, it drieth up. The passage strikingly illustrates the estate of the hypocrite — the man who forgets God. The tall and graceful plant need not be cut down that it may suddenly die. Take from it the moisture of the marsh, and it withers. Thus with one who assumes to be what he is not. False and characterless he stands. He has no life of God in the soul. Withdraw the grace of God, and his nakedness stands self-confessed. He withers before he dies. Few are the exceptions to the law that the character of men is known to their fellows before they are cut down. The scene of the first three verses of this poem is evidently the Nile. The hot sun dries up the marsh water, and the plants perish. Still not far away rolls the majestic river, sometimes, as we have seen, called the ocean. In like manner the sinner perishes in the morass, not far from the river of life.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not out down. It grows and flourishes in a rich greenness up to a certain point; no one touches it; but the water fails from the root, and it fades, collapses, and is gone. It withereth before any other herb. The ground may be all green around it with ordinary grass and other herbs, since they only need a little moisture the water-plant will collapse unless it has its full supply.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Greenness - Whereby it promises long continuance. Tho' no man cut it down, it withers of itself, sooner than other herbs.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

in its greenness In its moisture and with its produce.

will not be plucked Heb. יקטף, will not be broken or pulled off; like (Deut. 23:26), “you may pluck (וקטפת) ears.”

but before any other grass it will dry up Before any other grass [does], it will dry up when the water evaporates and the marsh dries up.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.