What is the meaning of Job 31:9?

If my heart has been enticed

• Job begins with the inner life. “For from the heart come…” (Matthew 15:19) and “Above all else, guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23) show Scripture’s consistent focus on motives before actions.

• He speaks in conditional language—“If”—inviting God to test him (Psalm 139:23-24).

• Enticement is a deliberate yielding, not a fleeting thought (James 1:14-15). Job claims no secret nurturing of lust that could bloom into sin (Matthew 5:27-28).

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by my neighbor’s wife

• The target of the temptation matters. God’s law explicitly forbids coveting “your neighbor’s wife” (Exodus 20:17) and warns, “Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife” (Leviticus 18:20).

• Adultery violates two households at once; it is treachery against both neighbor and God (Malachi 2:14).

• Proverbs paints the picture: “Do not lust in your heart after her beauty… Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” (Proverbs 6:25-27). Job distances himself from that fire.

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or I have lurked at his door

• Sin moves from imagination to opportunity. “Lurked” suggests premeditation—waiting for a chance (compare 2 Samuel 11:2-4, where David watched Bathsheba).

• Joseph provides the opposite example, refusing Potiphar’s wife and fleeing (Genesis 39:7-10). Job aligns with Joseph, not David in his failure.

• Scripture equates lingering near temptation with embracing it: “Make no provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14) and “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Job says he has not even stepped onto that path (Proverbs 4:14-15).

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summary

Job 31:9 highlights three escalating stages of adultery—heart attraction, focused desire, calculated opportunity. Job asserts innocence at every level, modeling the comprehensive purity God desires: guarding thoughts, honoring marriage bonds, and avoiding situations that invite sin.