Job 29:16

Job 29:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
• New International Version (NIV)I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.

Context of Job 29:16

14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a headband. 15I was eyes to those who were blind, And feet to those who could not walk. I was a father to the poor, And I investigated the case which I did not know. 17I broke the jaws of the wicked And rescued the prey from his teeth. 18Then I thought, ‘I will die with my family, And I will multiply my days as the sand.

Job 29:16 word by word

אָ֣ב אָ֭נֹכִֽי לָֽאֶבְיוֹנִ֑ים וְרִ֖ב לֹא־יָדַ֣עְתִּי אֶחְקְרֵֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear

• I was a fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• the poorאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
• And I investigatedחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713
• the caseרִיבrîyb rib · strifeH7379
• which I did not knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045

Cross-references for Job 29:16

• Job 31:18(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from my infancy I guided her),
• Esther 2:7He was the guardian to Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young woman was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
• Psalms 68:5A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy dwelling.
• Ephesians 5:1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
• James 1:27Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
• Exodus 18:26Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves.
• Deuteronomy 13:14then you shall investigate, search out, and inquire thoroughly. And if it is true and the matter is certain that this abomination has been committed among you,
• Deuteronomy 17:8“If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
• 1 Kings 3:16Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
• Proverbs 25:2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
• Proverbs 29:7The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; The wicked does not understand such concern.

Commentaries on Job 29:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16The cause which I knew not I searched out - When any thing difficult occurred, I did not give it a slight consideration; I examined it to the bottom, whatever pain, time, and trouble it cost me, that I might not pronounce a hasty judgment.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16I was a father to the poor - I took them under my protection, and treated them as if they were my own children. And the cause which I knew not I searched out - This is according to the interpretation of Jerome. But the more probable meaning is, “the cause of him who was unknown to me, that is, of the stranger, I searched out.” So Rosenmuller, Herder, Umbreit, and Good. According to this, the sense is, that, as a magistrate, he gave particular attention to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-17Verses 7-17 All sorts of people paid respect to Job, not only for the dignity of his rank, but for his personal merit, his prudence, integrity, and good management. Happy the men who are blessed with such gifts as these! They have great opportunities of honouring God and doing good, but have great need to watch against pride. Happy the people who are blessed with such men! it is a token for good to them. Here we see what Job valued himself by, in the day…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Job was active in searching out and helping strangers in need.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1712-17. The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Psa 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."Read the comment

Topics related to Job 29:16

• Beneficence
• Poor

In the dictionaries

• Aged
• Chief
• Ready
• Job, Book of
• Poor
• Proverbs, the Book of
• Psalms, Book of
• Search

Commentaries on Job 29

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings