Job 31:13-23

Job's Final Appeal

13 "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
 14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he o makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
 15 Did p not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 "If I have q withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have r caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
 17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
 18 (for from my youth the fatherless 1 grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow 2 ),
 19 if I have seen anyone s perish for t lack of clothing,
or the needy without t covering,
 20 if his body has not u blessed me, 3
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
 21 if I have raised my hand against v the fatherless,
because I saw my help in w the gate,
 22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
 23 For I was x in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his x majesty.

  1. Cross References
    Psalms 17:3
    You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
  2. Cross References
    Job 34:19
    Who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
    Proverbs 14:31
    Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
    Proverbs 22:2
    The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.
    Ephesians 6:9
    Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
  3. Cross References
    Job 22:7
    You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
  4. Cross References
    Job 11:20
    But the eyes of the wicked will fail; all way of escape will be lost to them, and their hope is to breathe their last.
    Job 17:5
    He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property - the eyes of his children will fail.
  5. Cross References
    Job 29:13
    The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
  6. Cross References
    Job 24:7
    They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
    Job 24:10
    They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves.
  7. Cross References
    Job 24:7
    They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
    Job 24:10
    They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves.
  8. Cross References
    Job 29:13
    The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
    Deuteronomy 24:13
    You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
  9. Cross References
    Job 22:9
    You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.
  10. Cross References
    Job 5:4
    His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
  11. Cross References
    Job 13:11
    Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you?
  12. Cross References
    Job 13:11
    Will not his majesty terrify you, and the dread of him fall upon you?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.