Job 31:16
If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Study Note
Study Note
'If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail' — Job's lengthy oath of innocence (chapter 31) is the most systematic ethical self-examination in the Hebrew Bible, covering justice to the poor, widow, orphan, and enemy. The legal 'if... then' structure is a binding self-curse: if guilty, Job invites punishment; its very form demonstrates the depth of his commitment to justice. The catalog of social-justice concerns embedded in Job's oath (care for the poor, fair wages, hospitality to strangers, equal justice to servants) anticipates the prophets' social ethics and Jesus's identification of himself with 'the least of these' in Matthew 25:31–46.
Other Translations
If I have withheld the poor fromtheirdesire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,
If I kept back the desire of the poor; if the widow's eye was looking for help to no purpose;
Cross References
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy …
Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for …
Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing …
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded …
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with …
Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou comfort me?