Job 31:39

Job 31:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
• New International Version (NIV)if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
• English Standard Version (ESV)if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners breathe their last,
• New King James Version (NKJV)If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

Context of Job 31:39

37I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I come near to him. 38If my land cry out against me, and its furrows weep together; If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, and have tormented to death the souls of its owners: 40Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and tares instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

Job 31:39 word by word

אִם־כֹּ֭חָהּ אָכַ֣לְתִּי בְלִי־כָ֑סֶף וְנֶ֖פֶשׁ בְּעָלֶ֣יהָ הִפָּֽחְתִּי׃Read the interlinear

• eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• moneyכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• soulsנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soulH5315
• ownersבַּעַלba‛al · masterH1167

Cross-references for Job 31:39

• Genesis 4:12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield thee its strength; a wanderer and fugitive shalt thou be on the earth.
• 1 Kings 21:13And there came the two men, sons of Belial, and sat before him; and the men of Belial witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. And they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
• Proverbs 1:19So are the paths of every one that is greedy of gain: it taketh away the life of its possessors.
• Isaiah 26:21For behold, Jehovah cometh out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them; and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
• Ezekiel 22:6Behold, the princes of Israel have been in thee to shed blood, each according to his power.

Commentaries on Job 31:39

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money - I have never been that narrow-minded man who, through a principle of covetousness, exhausts his land, putting himself to no charges, by labor and manure, to strengthen it; or defrauds those of their wages who were employed under him. If I have eaten the fruits of it, I have cultivated it well to produce those fruits; and this has not been without money, for I have gone to expenses on the soil, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 39If I have eaten the fruits thereof - Margin, strength. The strength of the earth is that which the earth produces or which is the result of its strength. We speak now of a “strong soil “ - meaning that it is capable of bearing much. Without money - Hebrew “without silver “ - silver being the principal circulating medium in early times. The meaning here is, “without paying for it;” either without having paid for the land, or for the labor. “Or have caused…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 33-40Verses 33-40 Job clears himself from the charge of hypocrisy. We are loth to confess our faults, willing to excuse them, and to lay the blame upon others. But he that thus covers his sins, shall not prosper, Pr 28:13. He speaks of his courage in what is good, as an evidence of his sincerity in it. When men get estates unjustly, they are justly deprived of comfort from them; it was sown wheat, but shall come up thistles. What men do not come honestly by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-40Job called down wrong against himself (curses) if he was guilty of the accusations against him. Apart from mentioning idolatry (worship of false gods), Job spoke about how loyal he was to God by focusing on the second half of the Ten Commandments (31:26–27). The summary of these is: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3939. lose ... life--not literally, but "harassed to death"; until he gave me up his land gratis [Maurer]; as in Jud 16:16; "suffered him to languish" by taking away his means of living [Umbreit] (1Ki 21:19).Read the comment

Topics related to Job 31:39

• Integrity
• Money
• Poor
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Bosom
• Instead
• Lift
• Root
• Charm
• Job, Book of

Commentaries on Job 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings