Job 31:16

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

Job 31:16 in Other Translations

16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

16 "If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

16 “Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?

16 "Have I ignored the needs of the poor, turned my back on the indigent,

16 If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

16 "If I have refused the requests of the poor or made a widow's eyes stop [looking for help],

16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow's eyes go blind,

16 "I haven't said no to what poor people have wanted. I haven't let widows lose their hope.

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 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?

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—

Cross References

• 1. S Leviticus 25:17; S Job 5:16; Job 20:19
• 2. S Job 22:9; James 1:27
• 3. Job 22:7