Job 31:5

5 "Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood, or hung out in the company of deceit?

Job 31:5 Meaning and Commentary

Job 31:5

If I have walked with vanity
Or with vain men, as Bar Tzemach interprets it, keeping company and having fellowship with them in their vain and sinful practices; or in the vanity of his mind, indulging himself in impurity of heart and life; or rather using deceitful methods to cheat and defraud others; for this seems to be another vice Job clears himself of, acting unjustly in his dealings with men, or dealing falsely with them:

or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
to cheat men in buying and selling, being ready and swift to do it, and in haste to become rich, which puts men oftentimes on evil ways and methods to attain it; see ( Proverbs 28:20 ) .

Job 31:5 In-Context

3 Isn't calamity reserved for the wicked? Isn't disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong?
4 Isn't God looking, observing how I live? Doesn't he mark every step I take?
5 "Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood, or hung out in the company of deceit?
6 Weigh me on a set of honest scales so God has proof of my integrity.
7 If I've strayed off the straight and narrow, wanted things I had no right to, messed around with sin,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.