Job 31:33

31 If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

32 ^a(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the¹ traveler);

33 If I have covered my transgressions ^aas Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34 Because I feared the great ^amultitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—

35 ^aOh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, ^bthat the Almighty would answer me,
That my¹ Prosecutor had written a book!

36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;

37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

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What Does Job 31:33 Mean?

Job 31:33

Job makes an interesting statement in defense of himself after his friends accuse him of being a hypocrite. He asks his friends for evidence that he has hidden the truth of his sins from himself.

It is a relevant question because it is natural to be blind to our own flaws while clearly seeing those of others. Sir Walter Scott put it this way, "O what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive." The tangled web hangs not only outside a deceiver but within him as well, and his own lies trap him so often that he begins to believe them. He tells them so often or lives them so smoothly that he loses his grip on reality like a drug addict in denial.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Ninth Commandment (1997)

Job 31:33

Job makes this statement because he has been accused of being a hypocrite, so he is defending his integrity. "Adam" represents mankind in general. Unlike mankind in general—though it is the natural thing to do—Job does not hide himself from the deceit of his heart, showing both his conversion and his wisdom. Sir Walter Scott wrote, "Oh what tangled webs we weave/ When first we practice to deceive." Job understood that either lying with the tongue or presenting a visible hypocrisy creates problems, not solve them.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Ninth Commandment

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