New English Translation
Job 31:16
16If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Job 31:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
- New International Version (NIV)“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Context of Job 31:16
14then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him? 15Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb? If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 17If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans – 18but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow!
Read all of Job 31Job 31:16 word by word
אִם־אֶ֭מְנַע מֵחֵ֣פֶץ דַּלִּ֑ים וְעֵינֵ֖י אַלְמָנָ֣ה אֲכַלֶּֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 31:16
- Job 22:7You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food.
- Deuteronomy 15:7If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition.
- Psalms 112:9He generously gives to the needy; his integrity endures. He will be vindicated and honored.
- Luke 16:21who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.
- Acts 11:29So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
- Galatians 2:10They requested only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
- Deuteronomy 28:32Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.
- Psalms 69:3I am exhausted from shouting for help; my throat is sore; my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.
- Psalms 119:82My eyes grow tired as I wait for your promise to be fulfilled. I say, “When will you comfort me?”
- Isaiah 38:14Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. O sovereign master, I am oppressed; help me!
- Lamentations 4:17Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us. צ (Tsade)
Commentaries on Job 31:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16If I have withheld the poor from their desire - Job now turns to another class of virtues, regarded also as of great importance in the patriarchal ages, kindness to the poor and the afflicted; to the fatherless and the widow. He appeals to his former life on this subject; affirms that he had a good conscience in the recollection of his dealings with them, and impliedly declares that it could not have been for any deficiency in the exercise of these…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Job's conscience gave testimony concerning his just and charitable behaviour toward the poor. He is most large upon this head, because in this matter he was particularly accused. He was tender of all, and hurtful to none. Notice the principles by which Job was restrained from being uncharitable and unmerciful. He stood in awe of the Lord, as certainly against him, if he should wrong the poor. Regard to worldly interests may restrain a man…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. 13-2313-23. Job affirms his freedom from unfairness towards his servants, from harshness and oppression towards the needy. despise the cause--refused to do them justice.Read the comment
Topics related to Job 31:16
In the dictionaries
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
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