“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.
Parallel translations
- WEB “I made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
- KJV I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
- BSB “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
- NKJV “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
- NASB “I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I look at a virgin?
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 declares he made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. It shows his commitment to sexual purity even in the realm of the heart and gaze.
Overview
Beginning his final defense, Job affirms a deliberate, binding resolve to guard his eyes against lust, recognizing that sin begins in the look and the heart. This goes beyond outward conduct to the inner discipline of the imagination. Jesus later affirms the same principle, teaching that lustful looking is adultery of the heart, so Job's covenant anticipates the gospel call to purity that flows from a transformed heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jas 1:14–15But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
- Matt 5:28–29but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
- Ps 119:37Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
- 1 Jn 2:16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
- Prov 6:25Don’t lust after her beauty in your heart, neither let her captivate you with her eyelids.
- 2 Sam 11:2–4At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- Prov 4:25Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.
- Gen 6:2God’s sons saw that men’s daughters were beautiful, and they took any that they wanted for themselves as wives.
- Prov 23:31–33Don’t look at the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly.
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 31:1 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.