Job 31:9-15

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 31:9-15

Two more instances we have here of Job's integrity:? I. That he had a very great abhorrence of the sin of adultery. As he did not wrong his own marriage bed by keeping a concubine (he did not so much as think upon a maid, Job 31:1), so he was careful not to offer any injury to his neighbour's marriage bed. Let us see here, 1. How clear he was from this sin, Job 31:9. (1.) He did not so much as covet his neighbour's wife; for even his heart was not deceived by a woman. The beauty of another... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:9

If mine heart have been deceived by a woman ,.... By another man's wife, by wantonly looking at her beauty, and so lusting after her; and so, not through any blame or fault of hers, or by any artful methods made use of by her, to allure and ensnare; such as were practised by the harlot, Proverbs 7:1 ; but by neither was the heart of Job deceived, and drawn into the sin of uncleanness; for he had made a covenant with his eyes, as not to look at a virgin, so much less at another man's wife,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:10

Then let my wife grind unto another ,.... Which some understand literally, of her being put to the worst of drudgery and slavery, to work at a mill, and grind corn for the service of a stranger, and be exposed to the company of the meanest of persons, and to their insults and abuses; as we find such as were taken captives and made prisoners by an enemy were put unto, as Samson, Judges 16:21 ; and it may be observed, that to grind in a mill was also the work of women, Exodus 11:5 ; as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:11

For this is an heinous crime ,.... Adultery; it is contrary to the light of nature, and is condemned by it as a great sin, Genesis 20:9 ; as well as contrary to the express will and law of God, Exodus 20:14 ; and, though all sin is a transgression of the law of God, and deserving of death; yet there are some sins greater and more heinous than others, being attended with aggravating circumstances; and such is this sin, it is a breach of the marriage contract and covenant between man and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:12

For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction ,.... Referring either to the nature of the sin of uncleanness; it is inflammatory, a burning lust, a fire burning in the breast; see 1 Corinthians 7:9 ; or to the effect of it, either the rage of jealousy in the injured person, which is exceeding fierce, furious, and cruel, like devouring fire, not to be appeased or mitigated, Proverbs 6:34 ; or else it may respect the punishment of this sin in the times of Job, and which we find was... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:13

If I did despise the cause of my manservant, or of my maidservant ,.... Whether it was a cause that related to any controversy or quarrel among themselves when it was brought before him, he did not reject it, because of the meanness of the contending parties, and the state of servitude they were in; but he received it and searched into it, heard patiently what each had to say, examined them thoroughly, entered into the merits of the cause, and either reconciled them, or passed a righteous... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:14

What then shall I do when God riseth up ?.... That is, if he had despised and rejected the cause of his servants, or had neglected, or refused to do them justice; he signifies he should be at the utmost loss to know what to do, what excuse to make, or what to say in his own defence, when God should rise up to defend the cause of the injured; either in a way of Providence in this life, or at the great day of judgment in the world to come, when everything will be brought to account, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:15

Did not he that made me in the womb make him ?.... And her also, both his manservant and maidservant: these were made, by the Lord as Job was, and in a like place and manner as he himself; though parents are the instruments of begetting children, and of bringing them into the world, God is the Maker of men, as at the beginning, and all are alike made by him, in whatsoever rank, condition, and circumstance of life, whether masters or servants; and they are all fabricated in the same shop of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 31:9

If mine heart have been deceived by a woman - The Septuagint add, ανδρος ἑτερου , another man's wife. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Job 31:10

Let my wife grind unto another - Let her work at the handmill, grinding corn; which was the severe work of the meanest slave. In this sense the passage is understood both by the Syriac and Arabic. See Exodus 11:5 ; (note), and Isaiah 47:2 ; (note); and see at the end of the chapter, Isaiah 31:8 ; (note). And let others bow down upon her - Let her be in such a state as to have no command of her own person; her owner disposing of her person as he pleases. In Asiatic countries slaves... read more

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