to root · verb, pual imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
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
Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause…
Micah 6:15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not…
Deuteronomy 28:38 Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
Deuteronomy 28:30-33 Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant…
Deuteronomy 28:51 And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, w…
Judges 6:3-6 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up agains…
Job 5:4-5 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
Job 15:30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
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…
Apodosis to Job 31:5, Job 31:7; the curses which he imprecates on himself, if he had done these things (Lev 26:16; Amo 9:14; Psa 128:2).
offspring--rather, "what I plant," my harvests.
John Gill on Job 31:8
Then let me sow, and another eat,.... If what he had before said was not true; but he had turned out of the way of righteousness, and walked after the sight of his eyes, and the mammon of unrighteousness cleaved to his hands; then he wishes might sow his fields, and another enjoy the increase of them, which is one of God's judgments threatened unto the wicked and disobedient, Leviticus 26:16;
let my offspring be rooted out; but Job had no offspring or children at this time to be rooted out or destroyed; they were all destroyed already; some think therefore that this imprecation was made by him in the time of his prosperity, though here repeated as it was then, he made a covenant with his ey…
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
"Let me sow, and let others gather the fruits. As it happened to the Jews. They taught what others have done better. "Let me be without seed," that I be quickly withered. He is here firmly established on the stone, which makes his life conform to his speeches.
Then let me sow, and let another eat; let my offspring be rooted out. After the manner of Sacred Revelation we call it to 'sow' to preach the words of life. Thus it is hence the Prophet says, Blessed are ye that sow upon all waters. For the preachers of Holy Church he saw to 'sow upon all waters' because they bestowed the words of life, like grains of heavenly bread, upon all peoples far and wide. But to 'eat' is to be filled to the full with good works. Hence Truth saith by Itself; My meat is to do the will of Him That sent Me. So then, if the things that he gave forth, he forbore to do, he says; Then let me sow, and another eat. As though he said in plain words; 'What my mouth utters let not me but another man put in practice.' For the preacher who in his ways is at variance with his own words, sows going hungry what another may eat; because he is not himself fed by His own seed, when by wrong conduct he is made void of the rightness of his word. And because it very often happens that the disciples hear what is good to no purpose, when by the life of the master it is destroyed by the example of actions, it in rightly subjoined; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. For 'the offspring' of the teacher is 'rooted out,' when he who is born by the word, is killed by the example, because him whom the heeding tongue begets, heedlessness of the life kills. For neither should we pass over with an insensible mind, that in Solomon the woman killed in sleeping the child, whom she was used to suckle being awake; in this way, because masters awake indeed in knowledge, but asleep in life, upon their hearers, whom they nourish by the watches of preaching, whilst they neglect to do the things that they say, through the sleep of insensibility inflict death, and by neglecting overlay those whom they appeared to be feeding with the milk of words. Hence generally whilst they live themselves in a blameable way, they are at once unable to have disciples of a praiseworthy life, and endeavour to draw over the disciples of others to themselves, that so, whilst they shew themselves to have good followers, in the judgments of men they may excuse the evil things that they do, and as it were by the life of those under them cover their deathdealing negligence. Whence in that place the woman, because she had killed her own, sought for another's child. Yet the sword of Solomon discovered…
Dictionary and topics
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 31:8
may I sow and another eat, and my produce be uprooted their roots should be torn up.