Job 31:21
19 if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,
20 if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
22 then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket.
23 For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
- KJV
- If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
- WEB
- if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate;
- ASV
- If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:
- DARBY
- If I have lifted up my hand against an orphan, because I saw my help in the gate:
- BLB
- if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help at the gate,
- ÅB
- Har jeg løftet min hånd mot den farløse, fordi jeg var sikker på å få medhold i retten?
- OTB
- Hvis jeg har løftet min hånd mot den foreldreløse,
Fordi jeg så jeg hadde støtte ved porten, - B1930
- Har jeg løftet min hånd mot den farløse, fordi jeg var viss på å få medhold i retten?
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Job 22:9
You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
Read in contextJob 29:12
because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
Read in contextEzekiel 22:7
Father and mother are treated with contempt. Within your walls the foreign resident is exploited, the fatherless and the widow are oppressed.
Read in contextMicah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
Read in contextJeremiah 5:28
They have grown fat and sleek, and have excelled in the deeds of the wicked. They have not taken up the cause of the fatherless, that they might prosper; nor have they defended the rights of the needy.
Read in contextJob 6:27
You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend.
Read in contextProverbs 23:10–11
Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Read in contextJob 24:9
The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast; the nursing child of the poor is seized for a debt.
Read in context