Job 31:17

17 I have not kept my food to myself but have given it to the orphans.

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 God made me in my mother's womb, and he also made them; the same God formed both of us in our mothers' wombs.

16 "I have never refused the appeals of the poor or let widows give up hope while looking for help.

17 I have not kept my food to myself but have given it to the orphans.

18 Since I was young, I have been like a father to the orphans. From my birth I guided the widows.

19 I have not let anyone die for lack of clothes or let a needy person go without a coat.