If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
Parallel translations
- WEB “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me;
- BSB If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against 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 21:26–27And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
- Deut 15:12–15And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
- Deut 24:14–15Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
- Col 4:1Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
- Lev 25:43Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
- Lev 25:46And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
- Jer 34:14–17At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.
- Exod 21:20–21And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
- Eph 6:9And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons 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
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.