24 “If I have made gold my hope,
and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’ 25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had gotten much; 26 if I have seen the sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in splendor, 27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, 28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
for I should have denied the God who is above. 29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when evil found him; 30 (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking his life with a curse); 31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’ 32 (the foreigner has not lodged in the street,
but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 31:24-32
Commentary on Job 31:24-32
(Read Job 31:24-32)
Job protests, 1. That he never set his heart upon the wealth of this world. How few prosperous professors can appeal to the Lord, that they have not rejoiced because their gains were great! Through the determination to be rich, numbers ruin their souls, or pierce themselves with many sorrows. 2. He never was guilty of idolatry. The source of idolatry is in the heart, and it corrupts men, and provokes God to send judgments upon a nation. 3. He neither desired nor delighted in the hurt of the worst enemy he had. If others bear malice to us, that will not justify us in bearing malice to them. 4. He had never been unkind to strangers. Hospitality is a Christian duty, 1 Peter 4:9.