◄ Job 31:29 ►
If I have rejoiced in my enemy's ruin, or exulted when evil befell him--
Study Bible
If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin
This phrase reflects a self-examination by Job, who is asserting his integrity and righteousness. In the cultural context of the Ancient Near East, personal vendettas and rejoicing over an enemy's downfall were common. However, Job's statement aligns with the biblical principle of loving one's enemies, as later emphasized by Jesus in Matthew 5:44. The idea of not rejoicing over an enemy's misfortune is also echoed in Proverbs 24:17, which advises against gloating when an enemy falls. This reflects a heart attitude that values compassion and forgiveness over vengeance.

or exulted when evil befell him—
Job continues to emphasize his moral integrity by stating that he has not taken pleasure in the misfortunes of his adversaries. This attitude is consistent with the teachings found throughout Scripture, which advocate for empathy and kindness even towards those who oppose us. The historical context of Job's time would have seen such restraint as countercultural, as retribution was often expected. This anticipates the New Testament teachings of Jesus, who exemplified forgiveness and love for enemies, as seen in Luke 23:34 when He asked for forgiveness for those who crucified Him. Job's stance here can be seen as a type of Christ, foreshadowing the perfect love and forgiveness that Jesus would later embody.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Job
A man described as blameless and upright, who feared God and shunned evil. He is the central figure in the Book of Job, known for his immense suffering and unwavering faith.

2. Job's Friends
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who visit Job to comfort him but end up accusing him of wrongdoing, suggesting his suffering is due to sin.

3. Job's Enemies
While not specifically named, Job refers to those who might oppose or wish harm upon him, highlighting his integrity in not rejoicing over their misfortune.

4. The Land of Uz
The setting of the Book of Job, a region whose exact location is uncertain but is traditionally considered to be in the area of Edom or northern Arabia.

5. God
The ultimate judge and sovereign being, whose justice and wisdom are central themes in the Book of Job.
Teaching Points
Integrity in Adversity
Job's refusal to rejoice over his enemy's ruin demonstrates a high standard of integrity. Believers are called to maintain righteousness even when wronged.

Love for Enemies
The Christian call to love and pray for enemies is a radical departure from natural human inclinations. Job exemplifies this by not exulting in their misfortune.

Trust in Divine Justice
Job's attitude reflects a trust in God's justice rather than seeking personal vengeance. Believers are encouraged to trust God to right wrongs.

Guarding the Heart
Rejoicing in another's misfortune can corrupt the heart. Christians are urged to guard their hearts against such attitudes, fostering compassion instead.

Reflecting Christ's Character
By not rejoicing over an enemy's downfall, believers reflect the character of Christ, who showed love and forgiveness even to those who opposed Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Job's attitude towards his enemies challenge our natural responses to those who wrong us?

2. In what ways can we apply the teaching of Proverbs 24:17-18 in our daily interactions with those we consider adversaries?

3. How does Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:44 expand upon Job's example of not rejoicing over an enemy's downfall?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are leaving room for God's justice, as advised in Romans 12:19-21?

5. How can reflecting on Job's integrity inspire us to maintain our own integrity in difficult situations?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Proverbs 24:17-18
This passage advises against rejoicing when your enemy falls, aligning with Job's declaration of his own righteousness in not doing so.

Matthew 5:44
Jesus teaches to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, which echoes Job's attitude of not rejoicing over an enemy's downfall.

Romans 12:19-21
Paul instructs believers not to take revenge but to leave room for God's wrath, promoting kindness towards enemies, which reflects Job's stance.
Sermons
Guard the SensesGurnall, WilliamJob 31:1-32
Methods of Moral LifeJoseph Parker, D. D.Job 31:1-32
Solemn Assurances of InnocenceE. Johnson Job 31:1-40
The Consciousness of IntegrityR. Green Job 31:1-40
People
Abaddon, Adam, Job
Places
Uz
Topics
Befell, Cries, Destruction, Enemy, Enemy's, Evil, Extinction, Exulted, Glad, Gloated, Hated, Hater, Joy, Lifted, Misfortune, Myself, Overtook, Rejoice, Rejoiced, Ruin, Stirred, Trouble
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Job 31:29

     5496   revenge, examples

Job 31:29-30

     8730   enemies, of believers

Library
Thou Shalt not Steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who could tell all the …
Dr. Martin Luther—A Treatise on Good Works

Question of the Active Life
I. Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? II. Does Prudence pertain to the Active Life? III. Does Teaching belong to the Active or to the Contemplative Life? IV. Does the Active Life continue after this Life? I Do all Acts of the Moral Virtues come under the Active Life? S. Isidore says[407]: "In the active life all the vices are first of all to be removed by the practice of good works, so that in the contemplative life a man may, with now purified mental gaze, pass to the …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Whether virtue is in us by Nature?
Objection 1: It would seem that virtue is in us by nature. For Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 14): "Virtues are natural to us and are equally in all of us." And Antony says in his sermon to the monks: "If the will contradicts nature it is perverse, if it follow nature it is virtuous." Moreover, a gloss on Mat. 4:23, "Jesus went about," etc., says: "He taught them natural virtues, i.e. chastity, justice, humility, which man possesses naturally." Objection 2: Further, the virtuous good consists …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether after Christ, it was Proper to the Blessed virgin to be Sanctified in the Womb?
Objection 1: It would seem that it was proper for the Blessed Virgin, after Christ, to be sanctified in the womb. For it has been said [4131](A[4]) that the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in the womb, in order that she might be worthy to be the mother of God. But this is proper to her. Therefore she alone was sanctified in the womb. Objection 2: Further, some men seem to have been more closely connected with Christ than Jeremias and John the Baptist, who are said to have been sanctified in the womb. …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Corporal Alms are of More Account than Spiritual Alms?
Objection 1: It would seem that corporal alms are of more account than spiritual alms. For it is more praiseworthy to give an alms to one who is in greater want, since an almsdeed is to be praised because it relieves one who is in need. Now the body which is relieved by corporal alms, is by nature more needy than the spirit which is relieved by spiritual alms. Therefore corporal alms are of more account. Objection 2: Further, an alms is less praiseworthy and meritorious if the kindness is compensated, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether Confession is According to the Natural Law?
Objection 1: It would seem that confession is according to the natural law. For Adam and Cain were bound to none but the precepts of the natural law, and yet they are reproached for not confessing their sin. Therefore confession of sin is according to the natural law. Objection 2: Further, those precepts which are common to the Old and New Law are according to the natural law. But confession was prescribed in the Old Law, as may be gathered from Is. 43:26: "Tell, if thou hast anything to justify …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether one Can, Without a Mortal Sin, Deny the Truth which Would Lead to One's Condemnation?
Objection 1: It would seem one can, without a mortal sin, deny the truth which would lead to one's condemnation. For Chrysostom says (Hom. xxxi super Ep. ad Heb.): "I do not say that you should lay bare your guilt publicly, nor accuse yourself before others." Now if the accused were to confess the truth in court, he would lay bare his guilt and be his own accuser. Therefore he is not bound to tell the truth: and so he does not sin mortally if he tell a lie in court. Objection 2: Further, just as …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Advanced Christian Reminded of the Mercies of God, and Exhorted to the Exercise of Habitual Love to Him, and Joy in Him.
1. A holy joy in God, our privilege as well as our duty.--2. The Christian invited to the exercise of it.--3. By the consideration of temporal mercies.--4. And of spiritual favors.--5. By the views of eternal happiness.--6. And of the mercies of God to others, the living and the dead.--7. The chapter closes with an exhortation to this heavenly exercise. And with an example of the genuine workings of this grateful joy in God. 1. I WOULD now suppose my reader to find, on an examination of his spiritual …
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

Trials of the Christian
AFFLICTION--ITS NATURE AND BENEFITS. The school of the cross is the school of light; it discovers the world's vanity, baseness, and wickedness, and lets us see more of God's mind. Out of dark afflictions comes a spiritual light. In times of affliction, we commonly meet with the sweetest experiences of the love of God. The end of affliction is the discovery of sin; and of that, to bring us to a Saviour. Doth not God ofttimes even take occasion, by the hardest of things that come upon us, to visit …
John Bunyan—The Riches of Bunyan

The Christian Business World
Scripture references: Proverbs 22:29; Romans 12:11; Psalms 24:1; 50:10-12; Haggai 2:8; Psalm 49:6,10,16,17; 62:10; Matthew 13:22; Mark 10:23,24; Job 31:24-26; Proverbs 3:9; Matthew 25:14-30; 24:45-51; 6:19-21; Luke 12:16-21. THE IDEAL IN THE BUSINESS WORLD There is often a wide difference between the methods actually employed in doing business and when they should be. Good men who are in the thick of the battle of competition and rivalry with other firms in the same line of trade, are the quickest …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.' Exod 20: 14. God is a pure, holy spirit, and has an infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. In this commandment he has entered his caution against it; non moechaberis, Thou shalt not commit adultery.' The sum of this commandment is, The preservations of corporal purity. We must take heed of running on the rock of uncleanness, and so making shipwreck of our chastity. In this commandment there is something tacitly implied, and something expressly forbidden. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Tit. 2:06 Thoughts for Young Men
WHEN St. Paul wrote his Epistle to Titus about his duty as a minister, he mentioned young men as a class requiring peculiar attention. After speaking of aged men and aged women, and young women, he adds this pithy advice, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober-minded" (Tit. 2:6). I am going to follow the Apostle's advice. I propose to offer a few words of friendly exhortation to young men. I am growing old myself, but there are few things I remember so well as the days of my youth. I have a most …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Thoughts Upon Worldly-Riches. Sect. Ii.
TIMOTHY after his Conversion to the Christian Faith, being found to be a Man of great Parts, Learning, and Piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the Ministry, St. Paul who had planted a Church at Ephesus the Metropolis or chief City of all Asia, left him to dress and propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him Power to ordain Elders or Priests, and to visit and exercise Jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false Doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be unblameable in …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Job
The book of Job is one of the great masterpieces of the world's literature, if not indeed the greatest. The author was a man of superb literary genius, and of rich, daring, and original mind. The problem with which he deals is one of inexhaustible interest, and his treatment of it is everywhere characterized by a psychological insight, an intellectual courage, and a fertility and brilliance of resource which are nothing less than astonishing. Opinion has been divided as to how the book should be …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Job 31:29 NIV
Job 31:29 NLT
Job 31:29 ESV
Job 31:29 NASB
Job 31:29 KJV

Job 31:29 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Job 31:28
Top of Page
Top of Page