If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
Parallel translations
- WEB “If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- KJV If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
- NKJV “If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- NASB ¶“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- NLT “Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?
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 withheld from the poor what they desired or caused the widow's eyes to fail in disappointment. He affirms his generosity to the vulnerable.
Overview
Job denies neglecting the needs of the poor or leaving the widow waiting in vain for help. Care for the poor and the widow is a central concern of God's law and the prophets, marking true godliness. Job's compassion reflects the heart of God, who defends the vulnerable, and points to Christ, who proclaimed good news to the poor and embodies God's care for the helpless.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Deut 15:7–10If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.
- Isa 38:14I chirp like a swallow or crane; I moan like a dove. My eyes grow weak as I look upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”
- Luke 16:21and longing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
- Ps 69:3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
- Job 20:19For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor; he has seized houses he did not build.
- Gal 2:10They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
- Job 22:7–9You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,
- Job 5:16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
- Ps 112:9He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
- Deut 28:32Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, while your eyes grow weary looking for them day after day, with no power in your hand.
- Ps 119:123My eyes fail, looking for Your salvation, and for Your righteous promise.
- Acts 11:29So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
- Lam 4:17All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.
- Ps 119:82My eyes fail, looking for Your promise; I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 31:16 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.