If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,
Parallel translations
- WEB “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;
- KJV If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
- NKJV “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,
- NASB ¶“If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,
- NLT “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me,
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 swears he never despised the just complaint of his male or female servants. He affirms that he treated his servants with fairness.
Overview
Job declares that when his servants brought a grievance against him, he did not dismiss their cause but gave it a fair hearing. This reveals a remarkable regard for the dignity and rights of those of lower social standing in an age when servants had little recourse. Such justice anticipates the New Testament truth that in Christ there is no distinction between slave and free, for all are equal before God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 21:26–27If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye.
- Deut 15:12–15If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free.
- Deut 24:14–15Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
- Col 4:1Masters, supply your slaves with what is right and fair, since you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
- Lev 25:43You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
- Lev 25:46You may leave them to your sons after you to inherit as property; you can make them slaves for life. But as for your brothers, the Israelites, no man may rule harshly over his brother.
- Jer 34:14–17Every seventh year, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must let him go free. But your fathers did not listen or incline their ear.
- Exod 21:20–21If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.
- Eph 6:9And masters, do the same for your slaves. Give up your use of threats, because you know that He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.
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 31:13 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
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