Job 31:8
New International Version
then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

New Living Translation
then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

English Standard Version
then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out.

Berean Standard Bible
then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

King James Bible
Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

New King James Version
Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

New American Standard Bible
Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

NASB 1995
Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

NASB 1977
Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

Legacy Standard Bible
Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

Amplified Bible
Then let me plant and [let] another eat [from the results of my labor], And let my crops be uprooted and ruined.

Christian Standard Bible
let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.

American Standard Version
Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

Contemporary English Version
then others can eat my harvest and uproot my crops.

English Revised Version
Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
[then] let someone else eat what I have planted, and let my crops be uprooted.

Good News Translation
then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.

International Standard Version
what I've planted, let another eat or let my crops be uprooted."

Majority Standard Bible
then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

NET Bible
then let me sow and let another eat, and let my crops be uprooted.

New Heart English Bible
then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then let me sow, and let another eat; yes, let my offspring be rooted out.

World English Bible
then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Let me sow—and another eat, "" And let my products be rooted out.

Young's Literal Translation
Let me sow -- and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.

Smith's Literal Translation
I will sow and another shall eat; and my offspring shall be rooted up.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then let me sow and let another eat: and let my offspring be rooted out.

Catholic Public Domain Version
then may I sow, and let another consume, and let my offspring be eradicated.

New American Bible
Then may I sow, but another eat, and may my produce be rooted up!

New Revised Standard Version
then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But when I sowed, then I ate, and when I planted, then I cultivated and gathered the crops.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
But if I have sown then I ate, and if I planted, then I raised and I stored up
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
then let me sow, and let others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Final Appeal
7If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, 8then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. 9If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 28:30
You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.

Proverbs 5:10
lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.

Micah 6:15
You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.

Leviticus 26:16
then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.

Jeremiah 12:13
They have sown wheat but harvested thorns. They have exhausted themselves to no avail. Bear the shame of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

Isaiah 65:21-22
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. / No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit, nor plant for others to eat. For as is the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will fully enjoy the work of their hands.

Amos 5:11
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.

Ecclesiastes 2:18-19
I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. / And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

Psalm 109:11
May the creditor seize all he owns, and strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

Hosea 8:7
For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. There is no standing grain; what sprouts fails to yield flour. Even if it should produce, the foreigners would swallow it up.

Matthew 25:24-30
Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. / So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’ / ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. ...

Luke 12:20-21
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ / This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

James 5:1-3
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. / Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. / Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

Galatians 6:7-8
Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. / The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, / his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. / If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. ...


Treasury of Scripture

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yes, let my offspring be rooted out.

let me

Job 5:5
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

Job 24:6
They reap every one his corn in the field: and they gather the vintage of the wicked.

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 sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

let my

Job 5:4
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.

Job 18:19
He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings.

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Job 31
1. Job makes a solemn protestation of his integrity in several duties














then may another eat
In this phrase, Job is expressing a conditional curse upon himself, should he be found guilty of wrongdoing. The Hebrew word for "another" (אַחֵר, 'acher) implies a stranger or someone other than oneself. This reflects the deep sense of justice and integrity that Job holds. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the idea of another person consuming the fruits of one's labor was a significant loss and a sign of divine disfavor. Job's willingness to invoke such a curse underscores his confidence in his innocence and his commitment to righteousness.

what I have sown
The act of sowing is a metaphor for one's labor and efforts. In the agrarian society of Job's time, sowing was a critical activity that determined one's sustenance and prosperity. The Hebrew root זָרַע (zara') means to scatter seed, and it carries the connotation of investing time and resources with the hope of a future harvest. Job's reference to his sowing symbolizes his life's work and endeavors. By stating that another may eat what he has sown, Job is essentially saying that if he has been unjust, he deserves to lose the fruits of his labor.

and may my crops be uprooted
The imagery of crops being uprooted is powerful and devastating. The Hebrew word for "uprooted" (שָׁרַשׁ, sharash) conveys the idea of being torn out by the roots, leaving no chance for regrowth. In the biblical context, this represents total destruction and loss. Crops were a sign of God's blessing and provision, and to have them uprooted would mean experiencing the opposite—divine judgment and curse. Job's invocation of this curse upon himself if he is guilty highlights his earnest desire for justice and his belief in God's righteous judgment.

Verse 8. - Then let me sow, and let another eat (comp. Job 5:5; Leviticus 26:16; Deuteronomy 28:33, 51, etc.). The expression is proverbial. Yea, lot my offspring be rooted out; rather, my produce, or the produce of my field (see the Revised Version).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
then may another
וְאַחֵ֣ר (wə·’a·ḥêr)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 312: Hinder, next, other

eat
יֹאכֵ֑ל (yō·ḵêl)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

what I have sown,
אֶ֭זְרְעָה (’ez·rə·‘āh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 2232: To sow, to disseminate, plant, fructify

and my crops
וְֽצֶאֱצָאַ֥י (wə·ṣe·’ĕ·ṣā·’ay)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6631: Issue, offspring, produce

be uprooted.
יְשֹׁרָֽשׁוּ׃ (yə·šō·rā·šū)
Verb - Pual - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8327: To root, strike into the soil, to pluck from it


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OT Poetry: Job 31:8 Then let me sow and let another (Jb)
Job 31:7
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