Job 8 2

Job 8:2 kjv

How long wilt thou speak these things? and how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a strong wind?

Job 8:2 nkjv

"How long will you speak these things, And the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?

Job 8:2 niv

"How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.

Job 8:2 esv

"How long will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a great wind?

Job 8:2 nlt

"How long will you go on like this?
You sound like a blustering wind.

Job 8 verses

Job 8 2 Meaning

Job 8:2 records Bildad the Shuhite's harsh opening statement to Job. It is a rhetorical question that conveys impatience, annoyance, and judgment. Bildad is essentially asking Job, "How much longer will you spout such empty, blustering words?" He implies that Job's extensive lamentations and protests are unsubstantial, forceful but void of truth or meaning, likening them to a powerful but ultimately unproductive blast of wind.

Job 8 2 Context

Job 8:2 immediately follows Job's passionate lament and protestation of his innocence in chapter 7. After suffering unimaginable loss and physical agony, Job cries out against the injustice of his plight, wishing for death and questioning God's actions. Bildad, along with Eliphaz and Zophar, are Job's three "friends" who have come to console him, but instead become his accusers.

Bildad represents a rigid, traditional school of thought regarding divine retribution: suffering is always a direct result of sin. In his view, Job's extensive and heartfelt cries of innocence contradict this established wisdom, thus implying that Job is speaking foolishly or rebelliously. Bildad's response is not compassionate but confrontational. He sees Job's laments as arrogant challenges to divine justice, rather than expressions of deep pain. His statement sets the stage for a cycle of accusations based on a simplistic understanding of God's ways, rather than a genuine empathy for Job's suffering. The immediate historical-cultural context reflects an ancient Near Eastern worldview where prosperity was often equated with divine favor and calamity with divine displeasure.

Job 8 2 Word analysis

• How long:
  • (Hebrew: עַד־אָן, 'ad-'ān) - A rhetorical interrogative adverb, expressing impatience and annoyance. It doesn't genuinely seek an answer to "for what duration," but rather expresses exasperation and a demand for an end to the current behavior.
  • Significance: Bildad immediately launches into a rebuke, highlighting his frustration and lack of compassion. It signifies the start of a condescending tone rather than comfort.
• will you speak:
  • (Hebrew: תְּמַלֵּל, tĕmallēl) - From the root מָלַל (mālal), meaning "to speak, utter, talk." It emphasizes the act of continuous articulation.
  • Significance: It refers to Job's extensive and heartfelt speeches of lament and protest, indicating Bildad's perception that Job has already spoken too much.
• these things?:
  • (Hebrew: אֵלֶּה, ’ēlleh) - A demonstrative pronoun, referring to the content of Job's previous words, specifically his complaints and self-justification in Job 7.
  • Significance: Bildad dismisses Job's profound anguish and theological struggles as mere "things," indicating a lack of engagement with the depth of Job's suffering or the intellectual/spiritual challenge he poses.
• And how long:
  • (Hebrew: וְעַד־אָן, wĕ'ad-'ān) - Repetition of "How long," further emphasizing Bildad's impatience and judgmental stance. The conjunction "and" links this second clause to the first, escalating the rhetorical question.
  • Significance: The reiteration underscores Bildad's dismissive attitude and impatience with Job's continued verbal expressions of pain and questions to God.
• will the words:
  • (Hebrew: אִמְרֵי, 'imrê) - Plural construct of אֵמֶר ('ēmer), meaning "saying, word, speech." Refers to the specific utterances or content of speech.
  • Significance: Distinguishes between the act of speaking ("will you speak") and the content/quality of the speech itself ("the words").
• of your mouth:
  • (Hebrew: פִּיךָ, pîkā) - "Your mouth," literally "your mouth's" (genitive case). It signifies the origin and direct agency of Job's speech.
  • Significance: Points directly to Job as the source of these "mighty wind"-like words, placing blame directly on him for his perceived foolishness.
• be like:
  • (Hebrew: רוּחַ כַּבִּיר, rûaḥ kabbîr) - This is a metaphorical phrase, where rûaḥ is "wind, breath, spirit" and kabbîr is "mighty, powerful, strong." Together, "mighty wind" or "strong wind."
  • Significance: This is the core metaphor. A "mighty wind" suggests a powerful, perhaps even destructive force, but one that is fleeting, lacks substance, and is ultimately unproductive. It blows hard but builds nothing; it disperses rather than solidifies. It's often used in Hebrew thought to describe something transient, empty, or vain. Bildad implies Job's words are bluster – forceful but empty of truth or wisdom, without real grounding, and therefore meaningless in the face of his traditional theology. It contrasts with a "spirit" (ruach) that might be God-given wisdom or insight.

Words-group analysis:

• "How long will you speak these things? And how long will the words of your mouth be...": This double rhetorical question highlights Bildad's intense frustration and contempt for Job's discourse. It’s an immediate, blunt accusation rather than a sympathetic inquiry. This style is often found in biblical wisdom literature, used by those claiming superior knowledge to shut down debate. It's not a true query, but a hostile challenge, expressing a strong desire for Job's protests to cease.
• "like a mighty wind" (רוּחַ כַּבִּיר, ruach kabbir): This is a powerful, derogatory metaphor. While ruach can also mean "spirit" or "breath," in this context, combined with kabbir (mighty, powerful), it clearly refers to a forceful blast of air. It connotes several things:
  1. Emptiness/Vainness: Like chasing after wind (Ecc 1:14), Job's words are perceived as having no real substance, foundation, or truth. They are just empty rhetoric.
  2. Destructive Potential (without constructive output): A "mighty wind" can be powerful enough to destroy, yet it builds nothing. It simply displaces. Bildad implies Job's words are harmful, not comforting or insightful, without actually building up truth or understanding.
  3. Lack of Control/Unbridled Force: Wind is unpredictable and hard to contain. Bildad sees Job's speech as out of control, lacking restraint or proper wisdom.This phrase sets the tone for Bildad's argument, framing Job's suffering as a consequence of sin and dismissing his profound questions as baseless bluster.

Job 8 2 Bonus section

The metaphor of "wind" (ruach) is extremely rich in the Bible. While Bildad uses ruach here to imply emptiness and futility (as in "chasing after wind," Ecc 1:14), ruach can also signify the very Spirit of God, life-giving breath, or divine power (e.g., Gen 1:2, Gen 2:7, Ps 104:30, Ezek 37:9). The ambiguity highlights the very point of tension in Job: human understanding often misinterprets divine realities. Bildad's theological perspective blinds him to the possibility that Job's intense emotional output might not be empty bluster, but a genuine cry emanating from profound spiritual distress and an attempt to grapple with a mystery beyond simple human explanations. Bildad assumes his traditional wisdom to be unassailable, causing him to perceive Job's cries for justice as an attack or empty defiance. This contrast foreshadows the ultimate divine vindication of Job's struggle over the friends' static pronouncements.

Job 8 2 Commentary

Job 8:2 reveals the flawed theological framework of Bildad and his friends, which dominates the central part of the Book of Job. Bildad's opening statement is profoundly uncharitable, immediately resorting to condemnation rather than compassion. He does not address Job's arguments or his suffering with empathy, but instead, dismisses Job's passionate lament (Job 7) as mere hot air, "a mighty wind." This highlights Bildad's belief that Job's words, precisely because they question the standard retribution theology (where the righteous prosper and the wicked suffer), must be empty and false.

Bildad's use of the metaphor "mighty wind" suggests that Job's words, though seemingly powerful in their emotional force, lack spiritual or intellectual substance. This judgmental dismissiveness sets a pattern for the friends' arguments: they refuse to truly hear Job's experience of righteous suffering, instead retrofitting his situation into their predetermined theological mold. The irony lies in the fact that, from a divine perspective revealed later in the book (Job 38-41), it is often the friends' words that prove to be the "mighty wind"—filled with human assumptions and lack true understanding of God's complex ways, in contrast to Job's wrestling that, despite its imperfections, truly seeks God.

For practical usage, this verse can serve as a warning against:

• Dismissing others' genuine pain or questioning as mere "bluster."
• Making quick, harsh judgments based on a rigid, incomplete understanding of spiritual truth.
• Assuming that intense emotional expression necessarily lacks truth or substance.