Job 31:9

“If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, etc.] By another man’s wife, by wantonly looking at her beauty, and so lusting after her; and so, not through any blame or fault of hers, or by any artful methods made use of by her, to allure and ensnare; such as were practised by the harlot, (<200701>Proverbs 7:1-27); but by neither was the heart of Job deceived, and drawn into the sin of uncleanness; for he had made a covenant with his eyes, as not to look at a virgin, so much less at another man’s wife, to prevent his lusting after her; and whatever temptations and solicitations he might have been attended with, through the grace of God, as Joseph was, he was enabled to withstand them; though…”

“Job asserts his innocence of adultery. deceived--hath let itself be seduced (Pro 7:8; Gen 39:7-12). laid wait--until the husband went out.”

“If mine heart have been deceived by a woman - If I have been enticed by her beauty. The word rendered “deceived” פתה pâthâh means to open, to expand. It is then applied to that which is open or ingenuous; to that which is unsuspicious - like a youth; and thence is used in the sense of being deceived, or enticed; Deuteronomy 11:16; Exodus 22:16; Proverbs 1:10; Proverbs 16:29. The word “woman” here probably means a married woman, and stands opposed to “virgin” in ver. 1. The crime which he here disclaims is adultery, and he says that his heart had never been allured from conjugal fidelity by the charms or the arts of a woman. Or if I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door - That is, to watch…”

“31:9-10 Whether she seduced him or he waited for her (24:15-16), if Job lusted for his neighbor’s wife he would break the seventh (Deut 5:18, Matt 5:27-28) and tenth (Deut 5:21) commandments. • serve: Literally grind for. This might refer to servitude (Exod 11:5) or to sexual intercourse.”

“If mine: Jdg 16:5; Kg1 11:4; Neh 13:26; Pro 2:16-19, 5:3-23, Pro 6:25, Pro 7:21, Pro 22:14; Ecc 7:26 if I: Job 24:15, Job 24:16; Jer 5:8; Hos 7:4 Job 31:10”

“9 If my heart has been befooled about a woman, And if I lay in wait at my neighbour's door: 10 Let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down over her. 11 For this is an infamous act, And this is a crime to be brought before judges; 12 Yea, it is a fire that consumeth to the abyss, And should root out all my increase. As he has guarded himself against defiling virgin innocence by lascivious glances, so is he also conscious of having made no attempt to trespass upon the marriage relationship of his neighbour (רע as in the Decalogue, Exo 20:17): his heart was not persuaded, or he did not allow his heart to be persuaded (נפתּה like πείθεσθαι), i.e., misled, on account of a woman…”