Bible Strands
Job 8:16
He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A speaker in a wisdom dialogue addresses a listener, describing the temporary prosperity of the wicked. The passage appears between verses depicting fragile reliance on a web and roots gripping stone.
The words — The text highlights רָטֹ֣ב (ra.Tov), meaning a fresh or well-watered plant, and תֵצֵֽא (te.Tze), meaning it goes out or spreads. These terms ground the metaphor in immediate, observable growth.
The thread — This imagery of outward-sprouting shoots parallels Psalms 80:11, which describes branches reaching the Sea and shoots toward the River. It also echoes Job 5:3 and Job 21:7, which contrast rapid growth with sudden cursing or prolonged wicked prosperity.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that visible, flourishing success is not permanent security. It calls the reader to evaluate present circumstances against underlying stability rather than surface appearance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden.
Cross-references
- Psalms 80:11 It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
- Job 5:3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
- Job 21:7 Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?
- Psalms 37:35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man flourishing like a well-rooted native tree,
- Psalms 73:3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
- Jeremiah 11:16 The LORD once called you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. But with a mighty roar He will set it on fire, and its branches will be consumed.