Job 31:11

11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense;

Job 31:11 Meaning and Commentary

Job 31:11

For this [is] an heinous crime
Adultery; it is contrary to the light of nature, and is condemned by it as a great sin, ( Genesis 20:9 ) ( 26:10 ) ; as well as contrary to the express will and law of God, ( Exodus 20:14 ) ; and, though all sin is a transgression of the law of God, and deserving of death; yet there are some sins greater and more heinous than others, being attended with aggravating circumstances; and such is this sin, it is a breach of the marriage contract and covenant between man and wife; it is doing injury to a man's property, and to that which is the nearest and dearest to him, and is what introduces confusion into families, kingdoms, and states; and therefore it follows:

yea, it [is] an iniquity [to he punished by] the judges;
who might take cognizance of it, examine into it, and pass sentence for it, and execute it; and, if they neglect do their duty, God, the Judge of all the earth, will punish for it in the world to come, unless repented of: "for whoremongers and adulterers God will judge", ( Hebrews 13:4 ) ; the punishment of adultery was death by the law of God, and that by stoning, as appears from ( Leviticus 20:10 ) ( Deuteronomy 22:21 ) ( John 8:4 John 8:5 ) ; and it is remarkable, that the Heathens, who were ignorant of this law, enjoined the same punishment for it; so Homer F5 introduces Hector reproving Paris for this sin, and suggests to him, that if he had his deserved punishment, he would have been clothed with a "stone coat", as he beautifully expresses it; which Suidas F6 explains, by being overwhelmed with stones, or stoned; as Eustathius F7.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Iliad. 3. v. 57.
F6 In voce (lainon) .
F7 In Homer. ibid.

Job 31:11 In-Context

9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door;
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense;
12 for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest.
13 "If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me;
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.