Job 31

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Job 31 presents Job's final, extensive oath of integrity before God and his friends. He meticulously lists various sins he has abstained from, including lust, injustice towards servants, lack of charity, idolatry, and malice towards enemies. Job asserts his blameless conduct, invoking severe self-curses if he has committed any of these transgressions. He concludes by expressing a fervent desire for God to answer his plea and acknowledge his righteousness.

Job’s Oath of Integrity: Purity of the Eyes 1–4

I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?

For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?

Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?

Doth not he see my ways, And number all my steps?

Honesty and Uprightness in Conduct 5–8

If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot hath hasted to deceit

(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity);

If my step hath turned out of the way, And my heart walked after mine eyes, And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:

Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

Commitment to Marital Fidelity 9–12

If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door;

Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.

For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:

For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.

Justice in Dealing with Servants 13–15

If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;

What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Generosity to the Poor and Vulnerable 16–23

If I have withheld the poor fromtheirdesire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof

(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother’s womb);

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;

If his loins have not blessed me, And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:

Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.

For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.

Rejection of Materialism and Idolatry 24–28

If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, Thou artmy confidence;

If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;

If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,

And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And my mouth hath kissed my hand:

This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above.

Ethics toward Enemies and Strangers 29–32

If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him

(Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);

If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?

(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveller);

Refusing to Hide Sin 33–37

If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,

Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—

Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me) Andthat I hadthe indictment which mine adversary hath written!

Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown:

I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him.

Justice Regarding the Land 38–40

If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;

If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Job 31

Verse 1

a covenant with mine eyes — Karath, to cut, the verb for making a covenant (Gen 15:18). 'Think upon' is bin, to look at with attention, the verb of 28:23 and 30:20. 'Maid' is bethulah, a young unmarried woman. Christ places the same sin at the eye: 'whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart' (Matt 5:28).

Verse 2

what portion of God — 'Portion' (cheleq) and 'inheritance' (nachalah) are the pair of 27:13, 'the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of oppressors'. Job asks what share God would give a man who had done the things he lists here, and v.3 answers. 'On high' is marom, the height of 25:2.

Verse 3

a strange punishment — 'Destruction' is eid, calamity, the word of 'reserved to the day of destruction' in 21:30 and of the 'destruction from God' Job dreaded in v.23. 'Strange' is neker, an unexpected calamity, found only here and in Obadiah 12: workers of iniquity meet a punishment of another kind from the common lot.

Verse 4

count all my steps — 'See' (ra'ah) and 'count' (saphar) are the verbs of 28:27, where God 'did see' wisdom 'and declare it'. Job had said 'thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?' (14:16), and Elihu says 'his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings' (34:21). Job appeals to that watching in his own defence.

Verse 6

an even balance — Literally 'balances of righteousness' (moznei tsedeq), the phrase of Lev 19:36, 'Just balances, just weights'. 'Weighed' is shaqal, the verb of 28:15, where silver 'weighed' cannot buy wisdom. 'Integrity' is tummah (2:3; 27:5). Job asks that God weigh him on honest scales and so know it.

Verse 10

let my wife grind — Grinding grain was the work of 'the maidservant that is behind the mill' (Ex 11:5) and of the captive (Isa 47:2). Job's oath in vv.9–12 is against adultery: 'let others bow down upon her'. He calls it 'an heinous crime… an iniquity to be punished by the judges' (v.11) and 'a fire that consumeth to destruction' (v.12).

Verse 14

when God riseth up — Paqad, to visit and look into a matter, the verb of 7:18, 'visit him every morning'. The question follows Job's account of how he treated his manservant and maidservant (vv.13–15). When God 'riseth up' (qum) to examine, Job would have to 'return' (shuv) an answer, and he says he would have none.

Verse 15

did not one fashion us — Master and servant have one maker. Proverbs says the same of rich and poor: 'the LORD is the maker of them all' (Prov 22:2). 'Fashion' is kun, to establish firmly. 'Womb' stands twice, as beten and then rechem. Job had said of himself, 'thou hast made me as the clay' (10:9).

Verse 18

from my mother's womb — The brackets are the KJV's. The fatherless of v.17 'was brought up' (gadal, to grow) with Job 'as with a father', and he 'guided' the widow of v.16 (nachah, to lead), the verb of 'He leadeth me' (Ps 23:3) and 'Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel' (Ps 73:24). Job dates the care from his birth.

Verse 21

my hand against the fatherless — Nuph, to wave or lift, here a hand raised against one who cannot answer. 'My help in the gate' is support among the elders, where cases were heard (29:7). The Law curses the opposite: 'Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow' (Deut 27:19).

Verse 24

gold my hope — 'Hope' is kesel, a thing trusted, the word of 'the LORD shall be thy confidence' (Prov 3:26) and 'set their hope in God' (Ps 78:7). 'Fine gold' is ketem; 'confidence' is mibtach, trust. Psalm 62:10 puts it the same way: 'if riches increase, set not your heart upon them'.

Verse 26

the sun when it shined, or the moon walking — Moses warned Israel, 'when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars… shouldest be driven to worship them' (Deut 4:19). 'Brightness' is yaqar, precious, splendid. Job says in v.28 that such worship would be 'an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above'.

Verse 33

as Adam — Adam hid among the trees and put the blame on another: 'The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree' (Gen 3:8, 12). 'Covered' is kasah, the verb of 'He that covereth his sins shall not prosper' (Prov 28:13). Job says he has hidden nothing 'in my bosom'.

Verse 35

my desire — Tav, a mark or signature, rendered 'mark' in Ezek 9:4. Job wants the Almighty to 'answer' (anah) and his adversary, literally the man of his strife, to write 'a book' (sepher), a written charge. In 19:23 he had wished his own words 'printed in a book'. The LORD does answer him, 'out of the whirlwind' (38:1).

Verse 36

bind it as a crown — The written charge of v.35 he would carry 'upon my shoulder' and bind (anad, to lace fast) on as a 'crown' (atarah), the word of 'The hoary head is a crown of glory' (Prov 16:31). In v.33 he spoke of hiding iniquity in his bosom; here the charge is worn in the open.

Verse 40

thistles… instead of wheat — Choach, a thorn, and bo'shah, 'cockle', a stink-weed found only here. The curse recalls the ground cursed in Eden: 'Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee' (Gen 3:18). 'The words of Job are ended', and the three 'ceased to answer Job' (32:1); he speaks again only when the LORD has answered him (40:3–4).