Job 31:16
in Job 31If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
KJV
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
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This verse in Job 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIf I have withheld the poor from their desire,.... Their reasonable desires, and which it was in his power to grant; as when they desired a piece of bread, being hungry, or clothes to cover them, being naked; but not unreasonable desires, seeking and asking great things for themselves, or unlimited and unbounded ones, such as the two sons of Zebedee desired of Christ, Mar 10:35; or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; through long waiting for, and expecting help and succour from him, and at last disappointed.
This site's exposition
If I have denied the desires of the poor
on Job 31:16-18
“If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail” turns the rescues in chapter 29 into oath form. It was a lifelong practice, and Gill reads the verse as evidence that Job raised orphans in his own household from his earliest years.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
After he showed that he was not lustful (v.1) or unjust (v.5), he shows next that he was not without pity. He first shows this from the fact that he did not take benefits away from the poor. For some men deny alms to the …
If I have denied what they wished for to the poor, or have caused the eyes of the widow to wait. By these words the holy man is shewn not only to have ministered to the need of the poor, but also to their desire of having. But what if the poor wished those very things, which perchance it might not be for their good to receive? Is it that, because in Sacred Scripture the lowly are used to be called 'poor,' those only are to be accounted the things the poor wish to receive, which the humble seek?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If a poor person begged a kindness of his, he was ready to gratify him; if he could but perceive by the widow's mournful craving look that she expected an alms from him, though she had not confidence enough to ask it, he had compassion enough to give it, and never caused the eyes of the widow to fail.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
If 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 virtues that his calamities had come upon him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and form us both in the womb? I in my mother’s womb and he in his mother’s womb—did not One creator form us?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶ֭מְנַע | ʾemna' | I withheld | H4513 → | 29 times |
| מֵחֵ֣פֶץ | mechefetz | any of [the] desire of | H2656 → | 39 times |
| דַּלִּ֑ים | dalim | poor [people] | H1800 → | 47 times |
| וְעֵינֵ֖י | veeinei | and [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אַלְמָנָ֣ה | ʾalmanah | a widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| אֲכַלֶּֽה׃ | ʾakhaleh | I caused to fail | H3615 → | 208 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֶ֭מְנַעI withheld
ʾemna'H4513 →29 times
מֵחֵ֣פֶץany of [the] desire of
mechefetzH2656 →39 times
דַּלִּ֑יםpoor [people]
dalimH1800 →47 times
וְעֵינֵ֖יand [the] eyes of
veeineiH5869 →887 times
אַלְמָנָ֣הa widow
ʾalmanahH490 →56 times
אֲכַלֶּֽה׃I caused to fail
ʾakhalehH3615 →208 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 75:10
“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:9–15
As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.”
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
Galatians 2:10They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 16:1–2
Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 24:17
After several years, then, I returned to Jerusalem to bring alms to my people and to present offerings.
- 1 John 3:17
If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him?
- 1 Corinthians 16:1–2
Through
Isaiah 38:14I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:11
We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
- Psalms 69:3
I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Isaiah 59:11
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXI; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.