the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Job 31:10
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- InternationalParallel Translations
let my own wife grind grain for another man,and let other men sleep with her.
Then let my wife grind for another, And let others sleep with her.
Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down on her.
then let my wife grind another man's grain, and let other men have sexual relations with her.
then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men have sexual relations with her.
Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man], And let others kneel down over her.
May my wife grind grain for another, And let others kneel down over her.
Then let my wife grind for another, And let others sleep with her.
Let my wife grinde vnto another man, and let other men bow downe vpon her:
May my wife grind for another,And let others kneel down over her.
then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.
then let some stranger steal my wife from me.
then let my wife grind for another man, and let others kneel on her.
Let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down upon her.
then let my wife serve someone else, and let other men sleep with her.
Then let my wife grind for another, and let her bake bread at another mans place,
then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.
let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her,
let my wife grind to another, and let others crouch over her.
O then let my wife be another mans harlot, and let other lye with her.
Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.
Then let my wife give pleasure to another man and let others make use of her body.
Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
Then let my wife grind vnto another, and let others bow downe vpon her.
Then let my wife grinde vnto an other man, and let other men lye with her.
then let my wife also please another, and let my children be brought low.
Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
and othir men be bowid doun on hir.
Then let my wife grind to another, And let others bow down on her.
[Then] let my wife grind to another, and let others bow down upon her.
Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.
then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her.
may my wife grind grain for another. And let others bow down upon her.
Let my wife, grind to another, and, over her, let others bend!
Let my wife be the harlot of another, and let other men lie with her.
then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down upon her.
Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.
May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
grind: Exodus 11:5, Isaiah 47:2, Matthew 24:41
and let: 2 Samuel 12:11, Jeremiah 8:10, Hosea 4:13, Hosea 4:14
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:30 - betroth Job 31:22 - let Lamentations 5:13 - the young
Cross-References
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.
And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted.
But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night, and said to him, "Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad."
And he said, "Hear my words: When there are prophets among you, I the Lord make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams.
If prophets or those who divine by dreams appear among you and promise you omens or portents, and the omens or the portents declared by them take place, and they say, "Let us follow other gods" (whom you have not known) "and let us serve them," you must not heed the words of those prophets or those who divine by dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you indeed love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. But those prophets or those who divine by dreams shall be put to death for having spoken treason against the Lord your God—who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery—to turn you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. If anyone secretly entices you—even if it is your brother, your father's son or your mother's son, or your own son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your most intimate friend—saying, "Let us go worship other gods," whom neither you nor your ancestors have known, any of the gods of the peoples that are around you, whether near you or far away from you, from one end of the earth to the other, you must not yield to or heed any such persons. Show them no pity or compassion and do not shield them. But you shall surely kill them; your own hand shall be first against them to execute them, and afterwards the hand of all the people. Stone them to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Then all Israel shall hear and be afraid, and never again do any such wickedness. If you hear it said about one of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you to live in, that scoundrels from among you have gone out and led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods," whom you have not known, then you shall inquire and make a thorough investigation. If the charge is established that such an abhorrent thing has been done among you, you shall put the inhabitants of that town to the sword, utterly destroying it and everything in it—even putting its livestock to the sword. All of its spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall remain a perpetual ruin, never to be rebuilt. Do not let anything devoted to destruction stick to your hand, so that the Lord may turn from his fierce anger and show you compassion, and in his compassion multiply you, as he swore to your ancestors, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God by keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
[Then] let my wife grind unto another,.... Which some understand literally, of her being put to the worst of drudgery and slavery, to work at a mill, and grind corn for the service of a stranger, and be exposed to the company of the meanest of persons, and to their insults and abuses; as we find such as were taken captives and made prisoners by an enemy were put unto, as Samson, Judges 16:21; and it may be observed, that to grind in a mill was also the work of women,
Exodus 11:5; as it was in early times; Homer c speaks of it as in times before him; but others take the words in a figurative sense, as if he imprecated that she lie with another man, and be defiled by him, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and others d; see Isaiah 47:1; and in like manner the following clause:
and let others bow down upon her; both which phrases are euphemisms, or clean and decent expressions, signifying what otherwise is not to be named; the Scriptures hereby directing, as to avoid unchaste thoughts, inclinations, and desires, and impure actions, so obscene words and filthy talking, as becometh saints: but there is some difficulty in Job's imprecating or wishing such a thing might befall his wife; it could not be lawful, if he had sinned, to wish his wife might sin also; or, if he was an adulterer, that she should be an adulteress; the sense is not, that Job really wished such a thing; but he uses such a way of speaking, to show how remote he was from the sin of uncleanness, there being nothing more disagreeable to a man than for his wife to defile his bed; it is the last thing he would wish for: and moreover Job suggests hereby, that had he been guilty of this sin, he must own and acknowledge that he would be righteously served, and it would be a just retaliation upon him, should his wife use him, or she be used, in such a manner; likewise, though a man may not wish nor commit a sin for the punishment of another; yet God sometimes punishes sin with sin, and even with the same kind of sin, and with this; so David's sin with Bathsheba was punished with Absalom lying with his wives and concubines before the sun, 2 Samuel 12:11; see Deuteronomy 28:30.
c Odyss. 7. v. 107. & Odyss. 20. v. 109. d So T. Bab Sotah, fol. 10. 1. & Luther, Schmidt apud Stockium, p. 414.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Then let my wife grined unto another - Let her be subjected to the deepest humiliation and degradation. Probably Job could not have found language which would have more emphatically expressed his sense of the enormity of this crime, or his perfect consciousness of innocence. The last thing which a man would imprecate on himself, would be that which is specified in this verse. The word “grind” (טחן ṭâchan) means to crush, to beat small; then to grind, as in a handmill; Judges 16:21; Numbers 11:8. This was usually the work of females and slaves; see the notes at Isaiah 47:2. The meaning here is, “Let my wife be the mill-wench to another; be his abject slave, and be treated by him with the deepest indignity.” This passage has been understood by many in a different sense, which the parallelism might seem to demand, but which is not necessarily the true interpretation. The sense referred to is this: Cogatur uxor mea ad patiendum alius concubitum, ut verbum molendi hoc loco eodem sensu sumatur, quo non raro a Latinis usurpatur ut in illo Horatii (Satyr. L. i. Ecl. ii. verse 35), alienas permolere uxores.
In this sense the rabbinic writers understand Judges 16:21 and Lamentations 5:13. So also the Chaldee renders the phrase before us (חורן תשמשעם אנתתי) coeat cure alio uxor mea; and so the Septuagint seems to have understood it - ἀρέσαι ἄρα κὰι ἡ γυνή μου ἑτέρῳ aresai ara kai hē gunē mou heterō. But probably Job meant merely that his wife should be reduced to the condition of servitude, and be compelled to labor in the employ of another. We may find here an answer to the opinion of Prof. Lee (in his notes at Job 31:1), that the wife of Job was at this time dead, and that he was meditating the question about marrying again. May we not here also find an instance of the fidelity and forgiving spirit of Job toward a wife who is represented in the early part of this book as manifesting few qualities which could win the heart of an husband? There is no expression of impatience at her temper and her words on the part of Job, and he here speaks of it as the most serious of all calamities that could happen; the most painful of all punishments, that that same wife should be reduced to a condition of servitude and degradation.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Job 31:10. Let my wife grind unto another — Let her work at the handmill, grinding corn; which was the severe work of the meanest slave. In this sense the passage is understood both by the Syriac and Arabic. See Exodus 11:5, and Isaiah 47:2; and see at the end of the chapter. Job 31:40.
And let others bow down upon her. — Let her be in such a state as to have no command of her own person; her owner disposing of her person as he pleases. In Asiatic countries slaves were considered so absolutely the property of their owners, that they not only served themselves of them in the way of scortation and concubinage, but they were accustomed to accommodate their guests with them! Job is so conscious of his own innocence, that he is willing it should be put to the utmost proof; and if found guilty, that he may be exposed to the most distressing and humiliating punishment; even to that of being deprived of his goods, bereaved of his children, his wife made a slave, and subjected to all indignities in that state.
