if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
Parallel translations
- WEB if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life,
- KJV If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
- NKJV If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;
- NASB If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
- NLT or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,
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 consumed his land's produce without paying or caused its owners to lose their lives. He affirms he never exploited or oppressed those who worked his fields.
Overview
Job denies eating the fruit of his land unjustly or bringing death to its rightful tenants and laborers. This guards against the oppression of workers, a sin the prophets repeatedly condemn. Job's just dealing with those who depended on his land reflects God's concern for the rights of laborers, a justice fully honored in Christ, who defends the oppressed and judges the exploiter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 21:19Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
- Jas 5:4Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Prov 1:19Such is the fate of all who are greedy, whose unjust gain takes the lives of its possessors.
- Ezek 22:12–13In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.
- Isa 26:21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
- Gen 4:12When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
- 1 Kgs 21:13–16And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- Ezek 22:6See how every prince of Israel within you has used his power to shed blood.
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 31:39 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.