Job 31:10

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Job 31:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.
Job 31:10 — American Standard Version

Context — Job 31

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“[Then] let my wife grind unto another, etc.] Which some understand literally, of her being put to the worst of drudgery and slavery, to work at a mill, and grind corn for the service of a stranger, and be exposed to the company of the meanest of persons, and to their insults and abuses; as we find such as were taken captives and made prisoners by an enemy were put unto, as Samson, (<071621>Judges 16:21); and it may be observed, that to grind in a mill was also the work of women, (<021105>Exodus 11:5 <402441>Matthew 24:41); as it was in early times; Homer f1127 speaks of it as in times before him; but others take the words in a figurative sense, as if he imprecated that she lie with another…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“grind--turn the handmill. Be the most abject slave and concubine (Isa 47:2; Sa2 12:11).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Then let my wife grined unto another - Let her be subjected to the deepest humiliation and degradation. Probably Job could not have found language which would have more emphatically expressed his sense of the enormity of this crime, or his perfect consciousness of innocence. The last thing which a man would imprecate on himself, would be that which is specified in this verse. The word “grind” (טחן ṭâchan) means to crush, to beat small; then to grind, as in a handmill; Judges 16:21; Numbers 11:8. This was usually the work of females and slaves; see the notes at Isaiah 47:2. The meaning here is, “Let my wife be the mill-wench to another; be his abject slave, and be treated by him with the…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Then - Not as if Job desired this; but that if God should give up his wife to such wickedness, he should acknowledge his justice in it. Job 31:11”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“grind: Exo 11:5; Isa 47:2; Mat 24:41 and let: Sa2 12:11; Jer 8:10; Hos 4:13, Hos 4:14 Job 31:11”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification