May my wife grind grain for another, And let others kneel down over her.
Parallel translations
- WEB then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
- KJV Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon 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.
- 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 to others, and their fields to those who shall possess them. For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
- 2 Sam 12:11“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
- Isa 47:2Take the millstones, and grind flour. Remove your veil, lift up your skirt, uncover your legs, and wade through the rivers.
- Exod 11:5and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of livestock.
- Deut 28:30You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit.
- Matt 24:41two women grinding at the mill, one will be taken and one will be left.
- Hos 4:13–14They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides 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.