Job 31:18

Job 31:18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as [with] a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

Ver. 18. For from my youth he was brought up with me, &c.] i.e. Ever since I could do anything it hath been my delight to be doing good to the poor orphans, whom I have tenderly bred, as a father useth to breed his children. Non est vulgare Dei donum, saith Mercer, This is no ordinary mercy for men to be of a merciful disposition and melting hearted toward the poor and necessitous, as some are naturally, and from the womb. Such are said to have been Artaxerxes Longimanus, Titus the emperor, Otho III, Stephen king of Hungary, Oswald king of England, &c.

And I have guided her from my mother’s womb] Ductavi illam, meaning the widow, or the orphan, to whom I have been a manly guide, and that of a child little. See the previous note. Sutton’s hospitals and many more monuments of charity in this kind are worthily alleged by some of our divines, to prove that, for their time and ability, Protestants have equalled and exceeded Papists in this way of good works. Job’s desire of doing good appeared early, as if it had been born with him; like as Plutarch writeth of Coriolanus, that he was so natural and expert a soldier, that he might seem to have been born with his arms upon his back and his weapons in his hands, εγγενη και εμφυτα..

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 31:18. For from my youth — As soon as I was capable of managing my own affairs, and doing good to others; he was brought up with me as with a father — Under my care and protection, with all the diligence and tenderness of a father. And I have guided her — The widow, mentioned Job 31:16; from my mother’s womb — From my tender years; ever since I was capable of discerning good from evil, I have made conscience of this duty.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He nourished the fatherless, and maintained the widow’s cause.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Parenthetical: asserting that he did the contrary to the things in Job 31:16-17.

he--the orphan.

guided her--namely, the widow, by advice and protection. On this and "a father," see Job 29:16.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. This is a very difficult verse, and is variously translated. Take the following instances: - For from his youth he (the male orphan) was brought up with me as a father. Yea, I have guided her (the female orphan) from her mother's womb. - Heath.

Nam a pueris educavit me commiseratio; jam inde ab utero matris meae illa me deduxit. - Houbigant.

"For commiseration educated me from my childhood;

And she brought me up even from my mother's womb."

This is agreeable to the Vulgate.

"Behold, from my youth calamity hath quickened me;

Even from my mother's womb have I distributed it."

This is Mr. Goods version, and is widely different from the above.

For mercy grewe up with me fro my youth,

And compassion fro my mother's wombe.

Coverdale.

Ὁτι εκ νεοτητος μου εξετρεφον ὡς πατηρ, και εκ γαστρος μητρος μου ὡδηγησα. - Septuagint.

"For from my youth I nourished them as a father; and I was their guide from my mother's womb."

The Syriac. "For from my childhood he educated me in distresses, and from the womb of my mother in groans." The Arabic is nearly the same.

The general meaning may be gathered from the above; but who can reconcile such discordant translations?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) For from my youth he.—The pronouns refer to the fatherless of Job_31:17 and to the widow of Job_31:16.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. he was brought up with me] Rather, he (the fatherless) grew up with me. Job probably did not achieve his greatness, he was born to it. And possibly he inherited the traditions of a great and benevolent house. And thus even from his youth he took the place toward the poor of a patron and father.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,.... A man may be in such poor circumstances as to want proper clothing to cover his naked body with, and preserve it from the inclemencies of the weather, and for want of it be ready to perish or die with cold. Job denies he had seen any such; not that he had never seen persons in such perishing circumstances; but he had not seen them as to "despise" them, as the Vulgate Latin version, as to have them in contempt, or look at them with disdain because of their poverty and rags, or sordid apparel; or so as to "overlook" them, as the Septuagint version, to neglect them, and to take no notice of them, and make no provision for their clothing, a warm and comfortable garment, as in Job 31:20,

or any poor without covering; without clothing sufficient to cover himself with, and keep him warm; Job had seen such objects, but he did not leave them in such a condition; he saw them, and had compassion on them, and clothed them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For from my youth he was brought up with me - This verse is usually regarded as a parenthesis, though very various expositions have been given of it. Some have understood it as denying that he had in any way neglected the widow and the fatherless, and affirming that the orphan had always, even from his youth, found a father in him, and the widow a guide. Others, as our translators, suppose that it is a parenthesis thrown in to indicate his general course of life, although the imprecation which he makes on himself, if he had neglected the widow and the orphan, is found in Job 31:22. Luther reads the two previous verses as questions, and this as an answer to them, and so also do Rosenmuller and Noyes. Umbreit regards this verse as a parenthesis. This is probably to be considered as the correct interpretation, for this better agrees with the Hebrew than the other proposed. It implies a denial of having neglected the widow and the orphan, but the full expression of his abhorrence of a charge of having done so, is to be found in the strong language in Job 31:22. The unusual Hebrew word גדלני gâdalniy probably stands for עמי גדל gâdal ‛imy - “he was brought up with me.” This form of the word does not occur elsewhere.

As with a father - That is, he always found in me one who treated him as a father. The meaning is, that he had always had under his care those who were orphans; that from his very youth they had been accustomed to look up to him as a father; and that they had never been disappointed in him. It is the language of one who seems to have been born to rank, and who had the means of benefiting others, and who had done it all his life. This accords also with the Oriental notions of kindness - requiring that it should be shown especially to the widow and the fatherless.

I have guided her - Margin, “That is, the widow.” The meaning is, that he had been her counsellor and friend.

From my mother’s womb - This cannot be literally true, but it means that he had done it from early life; or as we would say, he had always done it.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Womb. I was of a compassionate disposition, with which I always corresponded. (St. Gregory) --- Hebrew, "from my youth, pity (ceab, which Protestants translate "as with a father." Haydock) grew up with me; and from my birth I have preserved it!" (Calmet) --- Protestants, "From my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her (the widow, margin) from my mother’s womb." Septuagint, "I fed him as a father, Theodotion adds, and was his leader from," &c. It was my earliest delight to assist the afflicted orphan and widow. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

From my youth; as soon as I was capable of managing my own affairs, and of doing good to others.

He was brought up with me, in my family, or at least under my care and protection.

As with a father, i.e. with all the diligence and tenderness of a father.

I have guided her, i.e. the widow, mentioned Job 31:16, and commonly joined with the fatherless.

From my mother’s womb, i.e. from my tender years; ever since I was capable of discerning good and evil, I have made conscience of this duty; and this my continuance in well-doing is a good evidence of my sincerity therein.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Third strophe — In CIVIL life, also, Job declares he had practised righteousness towards the dependent, and shown mercy to the suffering and defenceless. — The entire strophe contemplates the false charges Eliphaz had made upon this very point, (Job_22:6-9,) and is enforced by a threefold appeal to God, and an imprecation that if he speak not the truth great bodily harm may come upon him, Job_31:16-23.

18. He — The fatherless.

Her — The widow.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother"s womb; i.e. I have always, so long as I can remember, protected the orphan and done my best to help the widow. It has been my habit from my earliest years so to act. The language is exaggerated; but it had, no doubt, a basis of fact to rest upon. Job was brought up in these principles.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Youth - As soon as I was capable of managing mine own affairs. With me - Under my care. A father - With all the diligence and tenderness of a father. Her - The widow mentioned ver. 16. From - From my tender years; ever since I was capable of discerning good and evil.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For, from my youth it raised me This virtue [raised me] as a father who raises me and teaches me. So did the uprightness of my heart teach me from my youth.

and from my mother’s womb I led it This trait.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.