What is the meaning of Job 31:10? Then may my own wife grind grain for another Job voices a self-curse to underscore his innocence. In the household economy of his day, grinding grain was the daily task of a wife for her own family (cf. Exodus 11:5; Matthew 24:41). By saying, “may my own wife grind grain for another,” Job is declaring, “If I have been unfaithful, let my most intimate earthly relationship be taken from me; let her labor serve a stranger, not me.” • This mirrors the covenant consequences outlined in Deuteronomy 28:30, where unfaithfulness to God leads to another man possessing one’s wife. • Job’s statement follows his earlier resolve: “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). He is asserting that he has honored that covenant. • Behind the words lies a conviction about justice: God would be right to strip him of marital blessing if he had violated another man’s marriage (Proverbs 6:27-29). Job welcomes such justice because he is certain he does not deserve it. And may other men sleep with her The second clause intensifies the first. Job is willing to accept the most humiliating and heartbreaking loss imaginable if he is guilty of adultery—his wife becoming another man’s sexual partner. • This echoes Nathan’s judgment on David: “I am going to raise up evil against you… your wives will be given to your neighbor” (2 Samuel 12:11), a direct consequence for David’s adultery with Bathsheba. Job cites a comparable penalty to certify his integrity. • The clause also recalls God’s moral order: sexual union is reserved for marriage (Genesis 2:24; Hebrews 13:4). Job acknowledges that breaking this order warrants severe recompense. • By inviting such a penalty, Job publicly affirms the sanctity of marriage and shows that he fears the Lord who “examines the righteous” (Psalm 11:5). He is not bargaining with God but testifying that his conscience is clear before the Almighty who sees all (Job 31:4). summary Job 31:10 is a solemn, self-imposed curse. Job declares that if he has violated another man’s marriage, God may justly allow his own wife to be taken and sexually exploited. These vivid images—grinding grain for another household and lying with another man—portray the total collapse of marital blessing that adultery deserves. Job’s readiness to accept such consequences underscores both the seriousness of marital fidelity and his unwavering confidence that he has remained pure before God. |
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