if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;
Parallel translations
- KJV If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
- BSB if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,
- NKJV If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;
- NASB If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,
- NLT Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear,
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 saw anyone perishing from lack of clothing or a needy person without covering. He affirms his readiness to clothe the destitute.
Overview
Job denies ever ignoring the plight of those dying for want of clothing or covering. Providing clothing to the naked is a recurring mark of true righteousness in Scripture, reflecting tangible love for one's neighbor. Jesus himself identifies care for the naked as service rendered to him, so Job's practice foreshadows the gospel ethic of meeting real human needs as an expression of love for Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 22:6For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
- 1 Jn 3:18My little children, let’s not love in word only, or with the tongue only, but in deed and truth.
- 2 Chr 28:15The men who have been mentioned by name rose up and took the captives, and with the plunder clothed all who were naked among them, dressed them, gave them sandals, and gave them something to eat and to drink, anointed them, carried all the feeble of them on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
- Luke 3:11He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
- Job 24:4They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
- Acts 9:39Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
- Matt 25:43I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
- Matt 25:36I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’
- Jas 2:16and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it?
- Isa 58:7Isn’t it to distribute your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh?
- Job 29:13the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
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 31:19 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.