Job 31:19
in Job 31if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
KJV
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
⋯
This verse in Job 31
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
seen one perish for lack of clothing
on Job 31:19-20
If I have “seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak” names exposure to cold. If “his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep” pictures the man's gratitude. Delitzsch reads the blessing as the man's own thanks.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
There are usually two obstructions to mercy. One is the contempt of the poor whom one judges not worthy of mercy. One usually despises those who dress in poor clothes and honors those who dress in rich clothes, as Sirach says, "the clothes of the …
If I despised any passing by, because he had no covering, and a poor man without clothing, if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep. Because he did not despise the poor, he displayed the virtue of humility; and because he covered him, of pitifulness. For these two virtues ought to be so linked together, as to be even supported by reciprocal practice; that so neither humility, when it reverences a fellow-creature, should abandon the grace of free giving, nor pity, when it gives, be made to swell high.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If Job knew of any that were in this distress, he was forward to relieve them, and instead of giving rich and gaudy liveries to his servants, while the poor were turned off with rags that were ready to be thrown to the dunghill, he had good warm strong clothes made on purpose for them of the fleece of his sheep (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,.... A man may be in such poor circumstances as to want proper clothing to cover his naked body with, and preserve it from the inclemencies of the weather, and for want of it be ready to perish or die with cold.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If I have seen any perish ... - He turns to another virtue of the same general class - that of providing for the poor. The meaning is clear, that he had always assisted the poor and needy.
The words behind it
8 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 |
| אֶרְאֶ֣ה | ʾereh | I saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| א֭וֹבֵד | ʾoved | [one who] was perishing | H6 → | 184 times |
| מִבְּלִ֣י | mibeli | because not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| לְב֑וּשׁ | levush | clothing | H3830 → | 33 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and not | H369 → | 789 times |
| כְּ֝ס֗וּת | kesut | covering | H3682 → | 8 times |
| לָאֶבְיֽוֹן׃ | laevyon | [belonged] to the needy [person] | H34 → | 61 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֶרְאֶ֣הI saw
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
א֭וֹבֵד[one who] was perishing
ʾovedH6 →184 times
מִבְּלִ֣יbecause not
mibeliH1097 →58 times
לְב֑וּשׁclothing
levushH3830 →33 times
וְאֵ֥יןand not
veeinH369 →789 times
כְּ֝ס֗וּתcovering
kesutH3682 →8 times
לָאֶבְיֽוֹן׃[belonged] to the needy [person]
laevyonH34 →61 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
1 John 3:18Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
it leads to
- James 2:15–16
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
- Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- 1 Peter 1:22
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- Galatians 5:13
For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- James 2:15–16
Through
Matthew 25:36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 1:16–18
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he has often refreshed me and was unashamed of my chains.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
- Hebrews 13:3
Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
- 2 Timothy 1:16–18
Where this verse is studied
About Job
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XXI; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.