Job 8:6

If thou [wert] pure and upright,.... By which he tacitly intimates that he was neither; though the character given of him is, that he was perfect and upright, feared God and eschewed evil, and which

If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous. Wert - translate, 'If thou shalt be (henceforth) pure,' etc. .

If thou wert in truth what thou pretendest, and hast been thought by others, to be, pure and upright, i.e. of a sincere heart and blameless life towards God and men. But God’ s severe dealing with thee is an evident token, that notwithstanding all thy fair shows, thou art but a hypocrite and secret sinner. And this sense may seem to agree both with the same charge brought in against Job by Eliphaz, ,7, and with the following discourse, particularly with ,20. Or thus, If thou wouldst be pure and upright, i.e. if thou wouldst join reformation to thy supplication. And this sense may seem best to suit with the foregoing verse, according to the common translation. Awake for thee, i.e. bestir himself to help thee, as being his faithful friend and servant, whom he could not in honour or justice forsake; whereas now he shows a deep sleep, and wholly neglects thee, and turneth a deaf car to all thy prayers; which showeth what opinion he hath of thee. The habitation, i.e. the concerns of thy house and family; a usual metonymy. Of thy righteousness; either, 1. Which thou hast got and managed with righteousness; so he calls it by way of supposition; if it were so, God would prosper thee accordingly. But because thou dost not prosper, it gives us cause to suspect that thou hast got thy estate by fraud and oppression. Or, 2. Which thou shalt now manage with justice, and not wrongfully, as thou hast done.

Job 8:6 If thou [wert] pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.Ver. 6. If thou wert pure and upright] If thou didst lift up pure hands to God in prayer, &c. Oςκεθεοιςεπιπειθηταιμαλατεκλυοναυτου.. Pura Deus mens est, pura vult mente vocari: Et puras iussit pondus habere preces. The fountain of goodness will not be laden at with foul hearts and hands, Jeremiah 4:14 James 4:8 Isaiah 1:15-16 John 9:31 1 Timothy 2:8. Thus a heathen philosopher, being at sea in a great storm, and perceiving many wicked wretches with him in the ship calling upon the gods, Silete, inquit, ne Dii vos hic navigare sentiant, Hold your tongues, said he, pray not, lest the gods take notice that you are here, and we all perish for your sakes. There are that take these words for reformation, as the former verse for humiliation, those two parts of true repentance: if thou wert pure and upright, as a right penitentiary would be; if thou wouldst break off thy sins by repentance, and especially thine hypocrisy which hath brought this punishment upon thee from the Lord. If thou wouldst not only repent for thy sins, but also from thy sins, and frame to lead a new life, which is optima et aptissima paenitentia, saith Luther, the best and soundest repentance. Surely now he would awake for thee] Thou shouldst undoubtedly find speedy and unmiscarrying returns of thy prayers, and all good acceptance of thy services. He will hear thee for deliverance, so the Septuagint render it; he will up and do it, he will arise and have mercy upon Zion, Psalms 102:13, for now that she prayeth and purgeth herself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come. I am come for thy words, saith the angel to Daniel, Job 10:12. And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous] i.e. He will bless thy well ordered family, and whatsoever thou dost therein shall prosper, Psalms 1:3. Thy children and servants shall live together in peace, and all good agreement; thy stock, also, and thy store shall be increased. He shall restore it to, or repair it for, thee, as the Septuagint here render it, αποκαταστησειδισοι (Sept.), peace, plenty, and prosperity shall be heaped upon thee; this is the import of the word שׁμν. Some of the Hebrews by habitation of righteousness here understand the soul, in which dwelleth righteousness. Others of them take it for the body, the habitation of the soul, wherein righteousness is seated. But these senses are far fetched.

(6) If thou wert pure and upright.—Of course, then, there is but one inference: thou art not pure and upright. These are verily the wounds of a friend which are not faithful. Bildad brings to the maintenance of his point the experience of former generations. He wishes to be very orthodox in his assertions, and to base his statements upon authority, and he appeals to the experience of former ages long gone by, and calls them to attest the truth of what he says. He also, like Eliphaz, uses figures, and has recourse to metaphor, only his figures are highly obscure and admit of various explanations. We give that which seems to commend itself most to us. It appears, then, that Bildad contemplates two representative characters, the two which are so prominent throughout this book—namely, the righteous and the wicked. He depicts the latter first, and describes him under the likeness of the paper-reed, or rush that grows in the mire of Egyptian swamps, which, though surrounded with moisture, yet as a matter of fact is liable soon to wither: so is the wicked man, according to this moralist and philosopher. He is surrounded by mercies and blessings, but they avail him nought; he withereth in the midst of abundance.

Verse 6. If thou wert pure and upright] Concerning thy guilt there can be no doubt; for if thou hadst been a holy man, and these calamities had occurred through accident, or merely by the malice of thy enemies, would not God, long ere this, have manifested his power and justice in thy behalf, punished thy enemies, and restored thee to affluence? The habitation of thy righteousness] Strongly ironical. If thy house had been as a temple of God, in which his worship had been performed, and his commandments obeyed, would it now be in a state of ruin and desolation?

6. if thou wert pure] Or, if thou be pure, cf. subjunctive in ch. Job 11:15. surely now he would awake] Rather, surely now he will awake. The words, if thou wilt seek, Job 8:5, suggest the right point of view from which to look at the words, if thou be pure, &c. The whole passage refers to the conduct which Bildad hopes for from Job. The meaning, therefore, does not seem to be, If thou be pure, as thou sayest, and as we have supposed thee; but rather, If thou become pure, through penitence, and by letting afflictions work the fruits of righteousness, cf. ch. Job 11:13 seq. make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous] Or, restore thy righteous habitation, that is, restore the lost prosperity (cf. Joe 2:25) of thy habitation, now become the abode of righteousness. Bildad comes out with his suspicions of Job’s guilt much more explicitly than Eliphaz did; and similarly Zophar, ch. Job 11:13.

If thou wert pure and upright - There is something especially severe and caustic in this whole speech of Bildad.

6. Awake corresponds to the “seeking early,” (betimes,) úùׁ ?çø, a verb whose root signifies “the early light,” or “dawn.” Underlying the figure is the thought that what burdens the heart leads to early action.