diff --git a/lib/build.gradle b/lib/build.gradle
index 1164fb5e..9689fa1f 100644
--- a/lib/build.gradle
+++ b/lib/build.gradle
@@ -37,6 +37,8 @@ java {
 
 compileJava {
     exclude 'module-info.java'
+    // Required to be compatible with JDK 8+
+    options.compilerArgs = ['--release', "8"]
 }
 
 javadoc {