Job 31:16

16 Si he impedido a los pobres su deseo, o he hecho desfallecer los ojos de la viuda,

Job 31:16 Meaning and 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 from him, and at last disappointed. Job did not use the widow in such a manner as to give her reason to hope for relief or counsel from him she came for, and make her wait long, and then send her away empty, as he was charged, ( Job 22:9 ) ; but he soon dispatched her, by granting her what she sued to him for.

Job 31:16 In-Context

14 ¿qué haré cuando Dios se levante? Y cuando El me pida cuentas, ¿qué le responderé?

15 ¿Acaso el que me hizo a mí en el seno materno, no lo hizo también a él? ¿No fue uno mismo el que nos formó en la matriz?

16 Si he impedido a los pobres su deseo, o he hecho desfallecer los ojos de la viuda,

17 o si he comido mi bocado solo, y el huérfano no ha comido de él

18 (aunque desde mi juventud él creció conmigo como con un padre, y a la viuda la guié desde mi infancia);