Job 31

CHAPTER 31

¹“I have cut a covenant with my ^aeyes;

How then could I gaze at a virgin?

²“And what is ^athe portion of God from above

Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

³“Is it not ^adisaster to the unjust

And misfortune to ^bthose who work iniquity?

⁴“Does He not ^asee my ways

And ^bnumber all my steps?

⁵“If I have ^awalked with worthlessness,

And my foot has hastened after deceit,

⁶Let Him ^aweigh me with ¹just scales,

And let God know ^bmy integrity.

⁷“If my step has ^aturned from the way,

Or my heart ¹followed my eyes,

Or if any ^bspot has stuck to my hands,

⁸Let me ^asow and another eat,

And let my ^1bcrops be uprooted.

⁹“If my heart has been ^aenticed by a woman,

Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,

¹⁰May my wife ^agrind for another,

And let ^bothers ¹kneel down over her.

¹¹“For that would be ^alewdness;

Moreover, it would be ^ban iniquity punishable by judges.

¹²“For it would be ^afire that consumes to ^1bAbaddon,

And would ^cuproot all my ²produce.

¹³“If I have ^arejected the justice of my male or female ¹slaves

When they filed a complaint against me,

¹⁴What then could I do when God arises?

And when He calls me to account, with what will I respond to Him?

¹⁵“Did not ^aHe who made me in the womb make him,

And the same one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have held back ^athe poor from their desire,

Or have caused the eyes of ^bthe widow to fail,

¹⁷Or have ^aeaten my morsel alone,

And ^bthe orphan has not eaten from it

¹⁸(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

And from the womb of my mother I guided her),

¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish ^afor lack of clothing,

Or that ^bthe needy had no covering,

²⁰If his loins have not blessed me,

And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

²¹If I have waved my hand against ^athe orphan

Because I saw my help ^bin the gate,

²²Let my shoulder fall from the ¹socket,

And my ^aarm be broken off ²at the elbow.

²³“For ^adisaster from God is a dread to me,

And because of ^bHis exaltedness I can do nothing.

²⁴“If I have put my confidence in ^agold,

And called fine gold my trust,

²⁵If I have ^abeen glad because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had found so much,

²⁶If I have ^alooked at the ¹sun when it shone

Or the moon going in splendor,

²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed,

And my hand ¹threw a kiss from my mouth,

²⁸That too would have been ^aan iniquity calling for ¹judgment,

For I would have ^bdenied God above.

²⁹“If I ^ahave been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,

Or ¹exulted when evil found him—

³⁰“But ^aI have not given over my ¹mouth to sin

By asking for his life in ^ba curse—

³¹“If the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who can ¹find one who has not been ^asatisfied with his meat’—

³²“The sojourner has not lodged outside,

For I have opened my doors to the ¹traveler—

³³“If I have ^acovered my transgressions like ¹Adam,

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

³⁴Because I ^afeared the great multitude,

And the contempt of families terrified me,

And I kept silent and did not go out of doors—

³⁵“Oh that I had one to hear me!

Behold, here is my ¹signature;

^aLet the Almighty answer me!

And the indictment which my ^baccuser has written,

³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;

I would bind it to myself like a crown.

³⁷“I would declare to Him ^athe number of my steps;

Like ^ba prince I would approach Him—

³⁸“If my ^aland cries out against me,

And its furrows weep together,

³⁹If I have ^aeaten its ¹fruit without money,

Or have ^bcaused ²its owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰Let ^abriars come out instead of wheat,

And stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.