“If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained 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;
- BSB If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint 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 21:26–27“If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
- Deut 15:12–15If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you, and serves you six years; then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
- Deut 24:14–15You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers, or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.
- Col 4:1Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
- Lev 25:43You shall not rule over him with harshness, but shall fear your God.
- Lev 25:46You may make them an inheritance for your children after you, to hold for a possession; of them may you take your slaves forever; but over your brothers the children of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness.
- Jer 34:14–17At the end of seven years, every man of you shall release his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years. You shall let him go free from you; but your fathers didn’t listen to me, and didn’t incline their ear.
- Exod 21:20–21“If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
- Eph 6:9You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality 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.