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Texts -- Job 31:1-18 (NET)

Context
Job Vindicates Himself
31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes ; how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin ? 31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above , one’s heritage from the Almighty on high ? 31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust , and disaster for those who work iniquity ? 31:4 Does he not see my ways and count all my steps ? 31:5 If I have walked in falsehood , and if my foot has hastened to deceit 31:6 let him weigh me with honest scales ; then God will discover my integrity . 31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way , if my heart has gone after my eyes , or if anything has defiled my hands , 31:8 then let me sow and let another eat , and let my crops be uprooted . 31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman , and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door , 31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men have sexual relations with her. 31:11 For I would have committed a shameful act , an iniquity to be judged . 31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction , and it would uproot all my harvest . 31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me , 31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes , how will I respond to him? 31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb ? 31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired , or caused the eyes of the widow to fail , 31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself , and did not share any of it with orphans 31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father , and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow!

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • What this book is all about has been the subject of considerable debate. Many people think God gave it to us to provide His answer to the age-old problem of suffering. In particular, many believe it is in the Bible to help us...
  • I. Prologue chs. 1-2A. Job's character 1:1-5B. Job's calamities 1:6-2:101. The first test 1:6-222. The second test 2:1-10C. Job's comforters 2:11-13II. The dialogue concerning the basis of the divine-human relationship 3:1-42...
  • The writer composed the prologue and epilogue of this book in prose narrative and the main body (3:1-42:6) in poetry. The prologue and epilogue form a frame around the main emphasis of the revelation, the poetic section, and ...
  • The poetic body to the book begins with a soliloquy in which Job cursed the day of his birth. This introductory soliloquy corresponds to another one Job gave at the end of his dialogue with his three friends (chs. 29-31), esp...
  • The two soliloquies of Job (chs. 3 and 29-31) enclose three cycles of dialogue between Job and his three friends. Each cycle consists of speeches by Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar in that order interspersed with Job's reply to e...
  • "If, up to this point, Job has been praying, or at least soliloquizing, now he makes a more direct attack on the friends (the you' in verse 21 is plural)."42Job's friends had not been loyal to him when they judged him as they...
  • Verse 8 probably reflects what Eliphaz thought Job's attitude was. Eliphaz implied that Job arrogantly believed the strong, respected man of the world, not the godly man, is the one who controls others and dominates those aro...
  • "Chapter 26 is one of the grandest recitals in the whole book. It is excelled only by the Lord's speeches, as is fitting. It sounds well in Job's mouth, and ends the dialogue, like the first movement of a symphony, with great...
  • Because the speech in this chapter is more soliloquy than dialogue some scholars have concluded that someone other than Job spoke it: Zophar, Bildad, or God. One writer argued for its being a speech by none of the characters,...
  • Job gave a soliloquy before his dialogue with his three friends began (ch. 3). Now he concluded that dialogue with another soliloquy (chs. 29-31). In this one, Job longed for his past state of blessedness (ch. 29), lamented h...
  • As was common in ancient Near Eastern judicial cases, Job concluded his summary defense with an oath of innocence. He did so in the form of a negative confession complete with self-imprecations.127He concluded with a challeng...
  • Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
  • Andersen, Francis I. Job. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng. and Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1976.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Revised ed. Chicago: Moody...
  • This section of Isaiah on "The Lord's redemption of His servant [Israel]"(44:23-47:15) has included an announcement of redemption (44:23-28), the identification of the instrument of redemption, Cyrus (45:1-13), and a reminder...
  • This section stresses Israel's covenant disloyalty to Yahweh.6:4 The Lord twice asked rhetorically what He would do with Ephraim and Judah. The questions express frustration, helplessness, and despair more than inquiry. The l...
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