Job 31:24-28

31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold

or said to pure gold,

‘You are my security!’

31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,

or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

31:26 if I looked at the sun ¹  when it was shining,

and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,

and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, ² 

31:28 then this ³  also would be iniquity to be judged, ⁴ 

for I would have been false ⁵  to God above.

[31:26]  ¹ tn Heb “light”; but parallel to the moon it is the sun. This section speaks of false worship of the sun and the moon.

[31:27]  ² tn Heb “and my hand kissed my mouth.” The idea should be that of “my mouth kissed my hand.” H. H. Rowley suggests that the hand was important in waving or throwing the kisses of homage to the sun and the moon, and so it receives the focus. This is the only place in the OT that refers to such a custom. Outside the Bible it was known, however.

[31:28]  ³ tn Heb “it.”

[31:28]  ⁴ tn See v. 11 for the construction. In Deut 17:2ff. false worship of heavenly bodies is a capital offense. In this passage, Job is talking about just a momentary glance at the sun or moon and the brief lapse into a pagan thought. But it is still sin.

[31:28]  ⁵ tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) in the Piel means “to deny.” The root meaning is “to deceive; to disappoint; to grow lean.” Here it means that he would have failed or proven unfaithful because his act would have been a denial of God.