Job 31:16

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Job 31:16-23

Eliphaz had particularly charged Job with unmercifulness to the poor (Job 22:6-9): Thou hast withholden bread from the hungry, stripped the naked of their clothing, and sent widows away empty. One would think he could not have been so very positive and express in his charge unless there had been some truth in it, some ground, for it; and yet it appears, by Job's protestation, that it was utterly false and groundless; he was never guilty of any such thing. See here, I. The testimony which Job's... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Job 31:16

If 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, Mark 10:35 ; or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail ; through long waiting for, and expecting help and succour... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 31:1-40

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 31:1-40

Job's second parable: 4. A solemn protestation of innocence. I. WITH RESPECT TO THE LAW OF CHASTITY . (Verses 1-4.) 1 . The wickedness he eschewed. Not alone the crime of seduction, or the actual defilement of virginal innocence, but even the indulgence of so much as a lascivious desire in connection with an unmarried female, was an ungodliness which Job regarded with abhorrence and indignation. Job's morality on this point, as also upon some others, is a remarkable... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 31:1-40

Solemn assurances of innocence. Job can discover no connection between his present sufferings and those well-founded hopes of his former life to which he has been referring; but there remains the assumption of his guilt as an explanation. In his intense longing for redemption he is led, in conclusion, to affirm in the most solemn and sacred manner his innocence, invoking the sorest punishments upon himself if his words are untrue. Thus, in effect, he makes a final appeal to God as his Judge.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 31:1-40

The consciousness of integrity. The Divine solution of the riddle of human life is being wrought out in this poem, although at times it seems as though the entanglement became more and more confused. The case, as put in these three chapters, is the condensation of all as far as it has gone. It still awaits the solution. Job was in riches, dignity, and honour; he is now cast down to ignominy and suffering. Yet he is righteous—this, at least, is his own conviction; and in this chapter he makes... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Job 31:16

If I have withheld the poor from their desire . As Eliphaz had maintained ( Job 22:6 , Job 22:7 ), and as Job had already denied ( Job 29:12 , Job 29:16 ). The duty of relieving the poor, solemnly enjoined upon the people of Israel in the Law ( Deuteronomy 15:7-11 ), was generally admitted by the civilized nations of antiquity. In Egypt it was especially insisted on. "The Egyptian's duties to mankind," says Dr. Birch, "were comprised in giving bread to the hungry, drink to the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Job 31:16

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.... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Job 31:16-17

Job 31:16-17. If I have withheld the poor, &c. If I have denied them what they desired of me, either in justice or from necessity; for he was under no obligation to grant their vain or inordinate desires. Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail With tedious expectation of my justice or charity. I durst neither deny nor delay my help, when they needed or required it. Or have eaten my morsel alone Without communicating part of my provisions or property to the poor, as it follows;... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Job 31:1-40

Job reaffirms his innocence (31:1-40)Once again Job examines his past life to see if, in fact, he has committed some great sin for which God is now punishing him. He readily acknowledges that God sees everything and that his punishment of sin is just. God knows that he has not been guilty even of unlawful sexual lust (31:1-4). He has not cheated others to enrich himself. If someone can prove that he has, he will gladly surrender all the produce of his fields (5-8). If he has committed adultery,... read more

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