Job 31:38
New International Version
“if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,

New Living Translation
“If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together,

English Standard Version
“If my land has cried out against me and its furrows have wept together,

Berean Standard Bible
if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,

King James Bible
If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;

New King James Version
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

New American Standard Bible
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

NASB 1995
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

NASB 1977
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

Legacy Standard Bible
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together,

Amplified Bible
“For if my land has cried out against me, And its furrows weep together;

Christian Standard Bible
If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,

American Standard Version
If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;

Contemporary English Version
I have never mistreated the land I farmed and made it mourn.

English Revised Version
If my land cry out against me, and the furrows thereof weep together;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept....

Good News Translation
If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners--

International Standard Version
"If my land were to cry out against me or if all its furrows wept as one,

Majority Standard Bible
if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,

NET Bible
"If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together,

New Heart English Bible
If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;

Webster's Bible Translation
If my land crieth against me, or its furrows likewise complain;

World English Bible
If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
If my land cries out against me, "" And together its furrows weep,

Young's Literal Translation
If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,

Smith's Literal Translation
If my land shall cry against me, and its, furrows shall weep together;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
If my land cry against me, and with it the furrows thereof mourn:

Catholic Public Domain Version
So, if my land cries out against me, and if its furrows weep with it,

New American Bible
If my land has cried out against me till its furrows wept together;

New Revised Standard Version
“If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Let the earth lament over me, let its furrows weep together,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the Earth will wail over me and its furrows will weep as one
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If my land cry out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned together;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Final Appeal
37I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— 38if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, 39if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,…

Cross References
Genesis 4:10
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Deuteronomy 27:17
‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

Isaiah 5:8
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.

Jeremiah 22:13
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,

Habakkuk 2:9-12
Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster! / You have plotted shame for your house by cutting off many peoples and forfeiting your life. / For the stones will cry out from the wall, and the rafters will echo it from the woodwork. ...

James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

Leviticus 19:13
You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

Proverbs 22:28
Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed.

Micah 2:2
They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.

Amos 8:4-6
Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land, / asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. / Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!”

Matthew 23:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

Luke 16:10-12
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. / So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? / And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?

Romans 13:8-10
Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. / The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” / Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 Corinthians 6:8
Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!

Colossians 3:25
Whoever does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.


Treasury of Scripture

If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;

cry

Job 20:27
The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

Habakkuk 2:11
For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.

James 5:4
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

complain.

Psalm 65:13
The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

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Complain Cried Cries Crieth Cry Earth Furrows Likewise Outcry Ploughed Sorrow Tears Thereof Together Weep Wept Wet
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Complain Cried Cries Crieth Cry Earth Furrows Likewise Outcry Ploughed Sorrow Tears Thereof Together Weep Wept Wet
Job 31
1. Job makes a solemn protestation of his integrity in several duties














If my land
The phrase "my land" refers to the property and territory that Job possesses. In the Hebrew context, land was not just a physical possession but a divine inheritance and a sign of God's blessing. The Hebrew word for land, "אֲדָמָה" (adamah), is deeply connected to the identity and livelihood of the people. It is reminiscent of the creation narrative where man is formed from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Job's reference to "my land" underscores his stewardship and responsibility over what God has entrusted to him.

cries out against me
The imagery of the land crying out is powerful and evocative. In Hebrew, the word "צָעַק" (tsa'aq) means to cry out or call for help. This anthropomorphic expression suggests that the land itself is a witness to Job's actions and can testify against him if he has wronged it. This concept is rooted in the idea that creation itself is aware of and responsive to human morality and justice, as seen in Genesis 4:10, where Abel's blood cries out from the ground. Job is asserting his innocence by stating that even his land has no accusation against him.

and its furrows
The term "furrows" refers to the plowed lines in a field, which are essential for planting crops. The Hebrew word "תְּלָמִים" (telamim) indicates the ridges or rows created by a plow. This agricultural imagery highlights the intimate relationship between the farmer and the land. In ancient times, the condition of the furrows was a direct reflection of the farmer's diligence and care. Job is emphasizing that he has not neglected or abused his land, which would be evident in the state of the furrows.

weep together
The phrase "weep together" uses the Hebrew word "בָּכָה" (bakah), meaning to weep or lament. This personification of the furrows weeping suggests a deep sense of sorrow or distress. In the biblical context, weeping often accompanies mourning or injustice. Job is poetically asserting that if there were any wrongdoing on his part, the very earth would join in lamentation. This reflects the biblical principle that all creation groans under the weight of sin and injustice (Romans 8:22). Job's declaration is a testament to his integrity, as he claims that even the land he tills would not find fault with him.

(38) Or that the furrows likewise thereof complain.--Rather, Or if the furrows thereof weep together--a strong impersonation to express the consequence of oppression and wrong-doing. It is to be observed that throughout this defence Job has far more than traversed the indictment of his friends. He has shown that he has not only not broken the moral law, as they insinuated, but, much more, has shown himself exemplary in all the relations of life, so that, according to the narrator of the history, he was not only one that feared God and eschewed evil (Job 1:1), but also was perfect, i.e., of sincere and consistent conduct and upright.

Verses 38-40. - It is generally supposed that these verses, with the exception of the last clause of ver. 40, are misplaced. As a termination, they form an anti-climax, and greatly weaken the peroration. Their proper place would seem to be between vers. 32 and 33. Verse 38. - If my land cry against me; i.e. if my land disclaim my ownership, as having been acquired by wrong or robbery. If the furrows likewise thereof complain; or, weep, as having been torn from their rightful proprietors, and seized by a stranger. The apodosis is in ver. 40.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
אִם־ (’im-)
Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

my land
אַדְמָתִ֣י (’aḏ·mā·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 127: Ground, land

cries out
תִזְעָ֑ק (ṯiz·‘āq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 2199: To shriek, to announce, convene publicly

against me
עָ֭לַי (‘ā·lay)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

and its furrows
תְּלָמֶ֥יהָ (tə·lā·me·hā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8525: A bank, terrace

weep
יִבְכָּיֽוּן׃ (yiḇ·kā·yūn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 1058: To weep, to bemoan

together,
וְ֝יַ֗חַד (wə·ya·ḥaḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 3162: A unit, unitedly


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OT Poetry: Job 31:38 If my land cries out against me (Jb)
Job 31:37
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