Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
Parallel translations
- WEB then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
- BSB then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.
- NKJV Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.
- NASB May my wife grind grain for another, And let others kneel down over her.
- NLT then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Job accepts that if he committed adultery, his own wife should serve and be taken by others. He pronounces a fitting curse to match the gravity of the sin.
Overview
In the oath form, Job declares that adultery would justly bring shame upon his own household, an outcome reflecting the principle that betrayal invites reciprocal loss. The harshness of the imagined curse underscores how seriously Job regarded the sin of unfaithfulness. While the language is severe, it highlights the sanctity of marriage that God upholds and that the gospel restores in hearts renewed by grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Jer 8:10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
- 2 Sam 12:11Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
- Isa 47:2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
- Exod 11:5And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
- Deut 28:30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.
- Matt 24:41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
- Hos 4:13–14They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 31:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.