to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
vanity
שָׁ֑וְאShav'
H7723
evil (as destructive) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
foot
רַגְלִֽיrag.Li
H7272
a foot (as used in walking) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
hasted
וַתַּ֖חַשׁva.Ta.chash
H2363
to hurry · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
deceit
מִרְמָ֣הmir.Mah
H4820
fraud · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 44:20-21 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Proverbs 12:11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding.
Psalms 4:2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.
Psalms 7:3-5 O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;
Psalms 12:2 They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
Jeremiah 2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are beco…
Ezekiel 13:8 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Micah 2:11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the pro…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 31:1-8
The lusts of the flesh, and the love of the world, are the two fatal rocks on which multitudes split; against these Job protests he was always careful to stand upon his guard.
I. Against the lusts of the flesh. He not only kept himself clear from adultery, from defiling his neighbour's wives (Job 31:9), but from all lewdness with any women whatsoever. He kept no concubine, no mistress, but was inviolably faithful to the marriage bed, though his wife was none of the wisest, best, or kindest. From the beginning it was so, that a man should have but one wife and cleave to her only; and Job kept closely to that institution and abhorred the thought of transgressing it; for, though his greatness m…
Job's abstinence from evil deeds.
vanity--that is, falsehood (Psa 12:2).
John Gill on Job 31:5
If I have walked with vanity,.... Or with vain men, as Bar Tzemach interprets it, keeping company and having fellowship with them in their vain and sinful practices; or in the vanity of his mind, indulging himself in impurity of heart and life; or rather using deceitful methods to cheat and defraud others; for this seems to be another vice Job clears himself of, acting unjustly in his dealings with men, or dealing falsely with them:
or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; to cheat men in buying and selling, being ready and swift to do it, and in haste to become rich, which puts men oftentimes on evil ways and methods to attain it; see Proverbs 28:20.
Keil & Delitzsch on Job 31:5-8
5 If I had intercourse with falsehood,
And my foot hastened after deceit:
6 Let Him weigh me in the balances of justice,
And let Eloah know my innocence.
7 If my steps turned aside from the way,
And my heart followed mine eyes,
And any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
8 May I sow and another eat,
And let my shoots be rooted out.
We have translated שׁוא (on the form vid., on Job 15:31, and the idea on Job 11:11) falsehood, for it signifies desolateness and hollowness under a concealing mask, therefore the contradiction between what is without and within, lying and deceit, parall. מרמה, deceit, delusion, imposition. The phrase הלך עם־שׁוא is based on the personification of deceit, or on thinking…
The Church Fathers
"So if I have met with impious mockers. It is very difficult for the righteous in the Church not to live with them. "If I hastened my steps towards fraud. This is hypocrisy.
Nobody can say, Job says, either that I was hankering after pleasures, luxuries and that kind of lustful life, or, on the other hand, that by becoming too hard and austere in my heart I finally fell into those vices that are contrary to that sort of life, that is, the vices of malice and deceit. No! I kept away from both of those two vices!
If I have walked in vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit, let Him weigh me in an even balance, and let God know mine integrity. 'God to know' is said for His making us to know by a customary mode of our speech, who speak of 'a happy day,' by which it happens that we are made happy. For hence it is the Lord saith to Abraham, Now I know that thou fearest God. For it is not that the Creator of the periods of time learnt any thing from time, but His knowing is His affording the knowledge to us by the instant of each particular case emerging. But who is there represented by the name of 'balances,' saving the Mediator between God and man? in Whom all our merits are weighed with an even scale, and in Whose precepts we find what we have short in our own life. Now we are weighed in these balances as often as we are incited after the examples of His life. Thus it is hence that it is written; Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; Who when He was reviled, reviled not again, when He suffered, He threatened not. Hence it is said by Paul, Let us run with patience the race that is set before us: looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for the glory set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame. Accordingly to this end the Lord appeared in the flesh, that the life of man he might by dealing admonitions arouse, by giving examples kindle, by suffering death redeem, by rising again renew. And so whereas blessed Job finds in himself nothing justly deserving to he blamed, he extends the eyes of the mind to the life of the Redeemer, which surpasses all things, that he may learn by that how much he comes short, where he says, If I have walked in vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit; let Him weigh me in an even balance, and let God know my simpleness. As though he said in plain speech; 'If I have ever done aught lightly, if ever mischievously, may the Mediator between God and man appear, that in His life I may read whether I myself am really and truly simple.' For as we have said, he who had surpassed the men of his own times, sought for the Mediator between God and man, that by being weighed in Him he might find out whether he truly maintained a life of simplicity. Therefore let him say, Let Him weigh me in an even balance, and let God…
Dictionary and topics
Deceit · .Avoid — .Avoid
Falsehood · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Integrity · 16:19,20; — 16:19,20;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
If Job had lied to anyone as part of a business deal, it would violate the eighth commandment (Deut 5:19); if it occurred in court, it would violate the ninth (Deut 5:20). This sin would merit fiery judgment (Rev 21:8). • If Job lusted for what his eyes had seen, he would violate the tenth commandment (Deut 5:21). • then let someone else eat: This was a self-curse.
Rashi on Job 31:5
hastened Heb. ותחש, and hurried, like (Isa. 60:22), “I will hasten it (אחישנה)”; (Ps. 90:10) “for it is soon (חיש) cut off.”
