Job 31:34

Did I fear a great multitude?.... No, they did not deter him from confessing his sin in the most public manner, when sensible or convicted of it, and when such a public acknowledgment was necessary:

Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

This verse either, 1. Contains new matter, and another argument or evidence of his integrity, taken from his courage and faithfulness in the discharge of his duty as a magistrate. The interrogation implies a denial; and so the sense is either, 1. This, I did not for fear of a great multitude, or for any contempt, or reproach, or other inconvenience which might befall me from great and numerous families, or combinations of people, who were engaged for him who had an unrighteous cause, forbear to speak for the poor oppressed and injured person whom they all opposed, or deny to go out of the door of my house to plead his cause, as a timorous and man-pleasing judge would have done. Or, 2. This, Though I could have terrified or violently oppressed a great multitude, because of my great power and interest, yet did the most contemptible persons or families terrify me, i.e. I was afraid to do them any injury, not for fear of them, as appears from the former clause, but for fear of God; therefore I kept silence, and went not out of the door, i.e. I durst neither move tongue, nor hand, nor foot against them. Or, 2. It contains an amplification or confirmation of what he said, ; either thus, Did I cover or conceal my transgressions, because I was afraid of the rage of the multitude, or of the contempt of families, which would be brought upon me by the confession of my wickedness? Did I therefore keep silence, i.e. forbore to confess my sin, and not go out of my door; but keep at home as one in that case ashamed or afraid to be seen abroad? No, the fear of shame or contempt from men did not hinder me from giving glory to God by confessing my faults. Or rather thus, Did I therefore cover all my oppressions, and frauds, and other wickednesses (wherewith you tax me) with the mask of virtue and piety, and use all possible caution and cunning in my evil courses, because I feared the great multitude, (who were my friends and admirers, but in case of the discovery of my wickedness would have hated and persecuted me,) or because the contempt of so many families (whose favour and good opinion I needed or desired) terrified me? Then (as the particle vau is oft used, i. e. if that were really my case) I should be silent, (I should silently and patiently bear all the strokes of God, and all the reproaches of my friends,) and not go out of the door of my house, as one ashamed to show his face before men. But my condition being through God’ s mercy far otherwise, and my conscience bearing me witness of my integrity in these and many other things, I dare now lift up my head, and open my mouth to plead my cause, and I desire nothing more than a fair hearing; Oh that one would hear me! as it follows in the next verse.

Job 31:34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, [and] went not out of the door?Ver. 34. Did I fear a great multitude] Or, Though I should have terrified a great multitude, yet the most contemptible of the families frayed me (or humbled me), so that I held my peace, and went not out of doors; q.d. I could by my greatness have borne out my misdemeanors, and who dared have once questioned me, or quacked before me? But this I did not, I dared not; as being reined in by the reverential fear of God; yea, rather, if any one, though but of the meanest rank, had come to me, and admonished me friendly of my faults, or else, more sharply reproved me, I took it well aworth from him, not once opening my mouth to contend with him for my sins, not at all stirring out of doors to do him hurt. Let us fight with our faults, and not with our friends that tell us of them, said that German emperor. And when a poor hermit came to our Richard I, A.D. 1195, and preaching to him the words of eternal life, bade him be mindful of the subversion of Sodom, and abstain from things unlawful; otherwise (said he) the deserved vengeance of God will come upon thee; the king laid these things to heart, and became more devout and charitable to the poor. That I kept silence, and went not out of the door] I replied, not in defence of what evil I had done; I cried not, as they used to do in courts of justice, Non feci, Not guilty; but Me, me, ego qui feci, I am verily guilty, and for this cause I went not out of doors, but kept me at home as much as I might, through shame and grief for what I had done amiss. I held my tongue, and hid my head. This was right; and this seems to me to be the right interpretation of the text among those many others that are brought by expositors.

Verse 34. Did I fear a great multitude] Was I ever prevented by the voice of the many from decreeing and executing what was right? When many families or tribes espoused a particular cause, which I found, on examination, to be wrong, did they put me in fear, so as to prevent me from doing justice to the weak and friendless? Or, in any of these cases, was I ever, through fear, self-seeking, or favour, prevented from declaring my mind, or constrained to keep my house, lest I should be obliged to give judgment against my conscience? Mr. Good thinks it an imprecation upon himself, if he had done any of the evils which he mentions in the preceding verse. He translates thus: - "Then let me be confounded before the assembled multitude, And let the reproach of its families quash me! Yea, let me be struck dumb! let me never appear abroad!" I am satisfied that Job 31:38-40, should come in either here, or immediately after Job 31:25; and that Job's words should end with Job 31:37, which, if the others were inserted in their proper places, would be Job 31:40. See the reasons at the end of the chapter. See Clarke on Job 31:40.

34. a great multitude] i. e. the general mass, or the assembly, of the people. contempt of families] i. e. the great clans or tribes. The verse gives the reason why Job, if he had been conscious of sins, would have refrained from going forth at the door, fear of the contempt of men would have deterred him. The passage ch. Job 29:7 seq. shews that he was deterred by no such fear, he constantly frequented the assembly and “sat as king” in the midst of the people. What Job affirms in these verses is not of course that, when he was guilty of any transgressions, he did not conceal but openly acknowledged them. On the contrary he affirms that he had no sins which he needed to conceal. He lived in the broad day and without fear confronted all (ch. Job 29:7 seq.) because he had nothing to hide. Job repudiates all hypocritical conduct or secret transgression. This was the charge his friends made against him. And this consciousness of purity of heart, struggling with false accusations of hypocrisy, forces from him a new appeal to God to make known to him the sins laid to his charge, Job 31:35-37. The verses are closely connected with Job 31:33-34. 35. Oh that I had one who would hear me!— Behold my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!— And that I had the charge which mine adversary had written! 36. Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder, I would bind it as a crown unto me; 37. I would declare unto him the number of my steps, As a prince would I go near unto him.

Did I fear a great multitude - Our translators have rendered this as if Job meant to say that he had not been deterred from doing what he supposed was right by the fear of others; as if he had been

34. Did I fear, etc. — Because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door.