Add parallel Print Page Options

16 “If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or[a] I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
17 or I have eaten my morsel alone,[b]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (for from my childhood he[c] grew up with[d] me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her[e]),
19 if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or[f] that there is no covering for the poor,
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
or[g] by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
21 if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless[h] because of his majesty.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 31:16 Hebrew “and”
  2. Job 31:17 Literally “to alone me”
  3. Job 31:18 Probably referring to “the orphan”
  4. Job 31:18 Literally “reared”
  5. Job 31:18 Probably referring to “the widow”
  6. Job 31:19 Hebrew “and”
  7. Job 31:20 Hebrew “and”
  8. Job 31:23 Literally “I was not able”

16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to (A)fail,
17 Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided [a]the widow);
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his [b]heart has not (B)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand (C)against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23 For (D)destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 31:18 Lit. her
  2. Job 31:20 Lit. loins