20If his loins have not thanked me,
         And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
         Because I saw I had support in the gate,

22Let my shoulder fall from the socket,
         And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

23“For calamity from God is a terror to me,
         And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

24“If I have put my confidence in gold,
         And called fine gold my trust,

25If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
         And because my hand had secured so much;

26If I have looked at the sun when it shone
         Or the moon going in splendor,

27And my heart became secretly enticed,
         And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

28That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment,
         For I would have denied God above.

29“Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
         Or exulted when evil befell him?

30“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
         By asking for his life in a curse.

31“Have the men of my tent not said,
         ‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

32“The alien has not lodged outside,
         For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

33“Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
         By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34Because I feared the great multitude,
         And the contempt of families terrified me,
         And kept silent and did not go out of doors?

35“Oh that I had one to hear me!
         Behold, here is my signature;
         Let the Almighty answer me!
         And the indictment which my adversary has written,

36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
         I would bind it to myself like a crown.

37“I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
         Like a prince I would approach Him.

38“If my land cries out against me,
         And its furrows weep together;

39If I have eaten its fruit without money,
         Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

40Let briars grow instead of wheat,
         And stinkweed instead of barley.”
         The words of Job are ended.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
If I have seen anyone die because he had no clothes or a poor person going naked....

King James Bible
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

Douay-Rheims Bible
If I have despised him that was perishing for want of clothing, and the poor man that had no covering:

Darby Bible Translation
If I have seen any perishing for want of clothing, or any needy without covering;

English Revised Version
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;

Webster's Bible Translation
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

World English Bible
if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;

Young's Literal Translation
If I see any perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,

Cross References

Job 22:6 "For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped men naked.

Job 24:4 "They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

Job 29:13 "The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, And I made the widow's heart sing for joy.

Job 31:18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her),

Job 31:20 If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

Isaiah 58:7 "Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 16-23

Eliphaz had particularly charged Job with unmercifulness to the poor (ch. 22:6, etc.): Thou hast withholden bread from the hungry, stripped the naked of their clothing, and sent widows away empty. One would think he could not have been so very positive and express in his charge unless there had been some truth in it, some ground, for it; and yet it appears, by Job's protestation, that it was utterly false and groundless; he was never guilty of any such thing. See here,

I. The testimony which Job's conscience gave in concerning his constant behaviour towards the poor. He enlarges most upon this head because in this matter he was most particularly accused. He solemnly protests,

1. That he had never been wanting to do good to them, as there was occasion, to the utmost of his ability. He was always compassionate to the poor, and careful of them, especially the widows and fatherless, that were destitute of help. (1.) He was always ready to grant their desires and answer their expectations, v. 16. If a poor person begged a kindness of his, he was ready to gratify him; if he could but perceive by the widow's mournful craving look that she expected an alms from him, though she had not confidence enough to ask it, he had compassion enough to give it, and never caused the eyes of the widow to fail. (2.) He put a respect upon the poor, and did them honour; for he took the fatherless children to eat with him at his own table: they should fare as he fared, and be familiar with him, and he would show himself pleased with their company as if they had been his own, v. 17. As it is one of the greatest grievances of poverty that it exposes to contempt, so it is none of the least supports to the poor to be respected. (3.) He was very tender of them, and had a fatherly concern for them, v. 18. He was a father to the fatherless, took care of orphans, brought them up with him under his own eye, and gave them, not only maintenance, but education. He was a guide to the widow, who had lost the guide of her youth; he advised her in her affairs, took cognizance of them, and undertook the management of them. Those that need not our alms may yet have occasion for our counsel, and it may be a real kindness to them. This Job says he did from his youth, from his mother's womb. He had something of tenderness and compassion woven in his nature; he began betimes to do good, ever since he could remember; he had always some poor widow or fatherless child under his care. His parents taught him betimes to pity and relieve the poor, and brought up orphans with him. (4.) He provided food convenient for them; they ate of the same morsels that he did (v. 17), did not eat after him, of the crumbs that fell from his table, but with him, of the best dish upon his table. Those that have abundance must not eat their morsels alone, as if they had none but themselves to take care of, nor indulge their appetite with a dainty bit by themselves, but take others to share with them, as David took Mephibosheth. (5.) He took particular care to clothe those that were without covering, which would be more expensive to him than feeding them, v. 19. Poor people may perish for want of clothing as well as for want of food-for want of clothing to lie in by night or to go abroad in by day. If Job knew of any that were in this distress, he was forward to relieve them, and instead of giving rich and gaudy liveries to his servants, while the poor were turned off with rags that were ready to be thrown to the dunghill, he had good warm strong clothes made on purpose for them of the fleece of his sheep (v. 20), so that their loins, whenever they girt those garments about them, blessed him; they commended his charity, blessed God for him, and prayed God to bless him. Job's sheep were burned with fire from heaven, but this was his comfort that, when he had them, he came honestly by them, and used them charitably, fed the poor with their flesh and clothed them with their wool.

2. That he had never been accessory to the wronging of any that were poor. It might be said, perhaps, that he was kind here and there to a poor orphan that was a favourite, but to others he was oppressive. No, he was tender to all and injurious to none. He never so much as lifted up his hand against the fatherless (v. 21), never threatened or frightened them, or offered to strike them; never used his power to crush those that stood in his way or squeeze what he could out of them, though he saw his help in the gate, that is, though he had interest enough, both in the people and in the judges, both to enable him to do it and to bear him out when he had done it. Those that have it in their power to do a wrong thing and go through with it, and a prospect of getting by it, and yet do justly, and love mercy, and are firm to both, may afterwards reflect upon their conduct with much comfort, as Job does here.

II. The imprecation with which he confirms this protestation (v. 22): "If I have been oppressive to the poor, let my arm fall from my shoulder-blade and my arm be broken from the bone," that is, "let the flesh rot off from the bone and one bone be disjointed and broken off from another." Had he not been perfectly clear in this matter, he durst not thus have challenged the divine vengeance. And he intimates that it is a righteous thing with God to break the arm that is lifted up against the fatherless, as he withered Jeroboam's arm that was stretched out against a prophet.

III. The principles by which Job was restrained from all uncharitableness and unmercifulness. He durst not abuse the poor; for though, with his help in the gate, he could overpower them, yet he could not make his part good against that God who is the patron of oppressed poverty and will not let oppressors go unpunished (v. 23): "Destruction from God was a terror to me, whenever I was tempted to this sin, and by reason of his highness I could not endure the thought of making him my enemy." He stood in awe, 1. Of the majesty of God, as a God above him. He thought of his highness, the infinite distance between him and God, which possessed him with such a reverence of him as made him very circumspect in his whole conversation. Those who oppress the poor, and pervert judgment and justice, forget that he who is higher than the highest regards, and there is a higher than they, who is able to deal with them (Eccl. 5:8); but Job considered this. 2. Of the wrath of God, as a God that would certainly be against him if he should wrong the poor. Destruction from God, because it would be a certain and an utter ruin to him if he were guilty of this sin, was a constant terror to him, to restrain him from it. Note, Good men, even the best, have need to restrain themselves from sin with the fear of destruction from God, and all little enough. This should especially restrain us from all acts of injustice and oppression that God himself is the avenger thereof. Even when salvation from God is a comfort to us, yet destruction from God should be a terror to us. Adam, in innocency, was awed with a threatening.

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New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

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