Job 29:16 “I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.”

Job 29:16

I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

World English Bible

I was a father to the needy. I researched the cause of him whom I didn’t know.

American Standard Version

I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.

Geneva Bible 1599

I was a father vnto the poore, and when I knewe not the cause, I sought it out diligently.

Darby Translation

I was a father to the needy, and the cause which I knew not I searched out;

Young's Literal Translation

A father I [am] to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out.

Bible in Basic English

I was a father to the poor, searching out the cause of him who was strange to me.

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Cross references

“a father”

Psalm 68:5 Job 31:18 Esther 2:7 Ephesians 5:1 James 1:27

Psalm 68:5 · BSB

A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.

Job 31:18 · BSB

though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

Esther 2:7 · BSB

And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died,…

Ephesians 5:1 · BSB

Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,

James 1:27 · BSB

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

“the cause”

Proverbs 29:7 Proverbs 25:2 Exodus 18:26 Deuteronomy 13:14 Deuteronomy 17:8–10 1 Kings 3:16–28

Proverbs 29:7 · BSB

The righteous consider the cause of the poor, but the wicked have no regard for such concerns.

Proverbs 25:2 · BSB

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out.

Exodus 18:26 · BSB

And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

Deuteronomy 13:14 · BSB

then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,

Deuteronomy 17:8–10 · BSB

If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.

1 Kings 3:16–28 · BSB

At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Also

Job 24:4

Job 24:4 · BSB

They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

15I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.

17I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.

Read Job 29