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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help.

Context of Job 29:16

14I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. 15I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger. 17I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth. 18“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

Job 29:16 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• a fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• to the poorאֶבְיוֹן'ebyôn · needyH34
• and the causeרִיבrîyb rib · strifeH7379
• I knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• not I searched outחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713

Cross-references for Job 29:16

• Job 31:18but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—
• Esther 2:7Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
• Psalms 68:5A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
• Ephesians 5:1Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children
• James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
• Exodus 18:26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
• Deuteronomy 13:14then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,
• Deuteronomy 17:8If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.
• 1 Kings 3:16Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
• Proverbs 25:2It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
• Proverbs 29:7The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no 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