Job 31:17

17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—

Job 31:17 in Other Translations

17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it

17 Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans?

17 Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face while they languished?

17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it-

Job 31:17 Meaning and Commentary

Job 31:17

Or have eaten my morsel myself alone
Though he had kept no doubt a plentiful table in the time of his prosperity suitable to his circumstances, yet had been no luxurious person, and therefore calls provisions a "morsel"; however, be it what it would, more or less, he did not eat it alone; what he had for himself the poor had a share of it with him, and the same he ate himself he gave to them:

and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof:
meaning the poor fatherless: for as to the rich fatherless, it was no charity to feed them: this verse contradicts the charge exhibited against him, ( Job 22:7 ) .

Job 31:17 In-Context

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless—

18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow—

19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,

Cross References

• 1. S Job 6:27; S Job 22:7; Job 29:12