If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
Parallel translations
- WEB if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate,
- BSB if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
- NKJV If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;
- NASB If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,
- NLT “If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side,
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 raised his hand against the fatherless, even when he had influence in the court. He refused to abuse his power against the weak.
Overview
Job denies ever exploiting his standing among the elders at the city gate to oppress the orphan. The gate was where justice was administered, so this affirms that he never perverted justice for personal advantage against the vulnerable. His refusal to misuse power reflects God's justice and anticipates Christ, who never abused his authority but used it to defend and save the weak.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Job 22:9Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- Job 29:12Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
- Job 24:9They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
- Job 6:27Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
- Ezek 22:7In thee have they set light by father and mother: in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the stranger: in thee have they vexed the fatherless and the widow.
- Mic 2:1–2Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
- Jer 5:28They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
- Mic 7:3That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
- Prov 23:10–11Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
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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 31:21 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
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