Job 31

“I made a covenant with my eyes^f

not to look lustfully at a virgin.^g

For what is our lot^h from God above,

our heritage from the Almighty on high?ⁱ

Is it not ruin^j for the wicked,

disaster^k for those who do wrong?^l

Does he not see my ways^m

and count my every step?ⁿ

“If I have walked with falsehood

or my foot has hurried after deceit^o—

let God weigh me^p in honest scales^q

and he will know that I am blameless^r—

if my steps have turned from the path,^s

if my heart has been led by my eyes,

or if my hands^t have been defiled,^u

then may others eat what I have sown,^v

and may my crops be uprooted.^w

“If my heart has been enticed^x by a woman,^y

or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

then may my wife grind^z another man’s grain,

and may other men sleep with her.^a

For that would have been wicked,^b

a sin to be judged.^c

It is a fire^d that burns to Destruction;^e

it would have uprooted my harvest.^f

“If I have denied justice to any of my servants,^g

whether male or female,

when they had a grievance against me,^h

what will I do when God confronts me?ⁱ

What will I answer when called to account?^j

Did not he who made me in the womb make them?^k

Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?^l

“If I have denied the desires of the poor^m

or let the eyes of the widowⁿ grow weary,^o

if I have kept my bread to myself,

not sharing it with the fatherless^p—

but from my youth I reared them as a father would,

and from my birth I guided the widow^q—

if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,^r

or the needy^s without garments,

and their hearts did not bless me^t

for warming them with the fleece^u from my sheep,

if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,^v

knowing that I had influence in court,^w

then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let it be broken off at the joint.^x

For I dreaded destruction from God,^y

and for fear of his splendor^z I could not do such things.^a

“If I have put my trust in gold^b

or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’^c

if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,^d

the fortune my hands had gained,^e

if I have regarded the sun^f in its radiance

or the moon^g moving in splendor,

so that my heart was secretly enticed^h

and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,ⁱ

then these also would be sins to be judged,^j

for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.^k

“If I have rejoiced at my enemies’ misfortune^l

or gloated over the trouble that came to them^m—

I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by invoking a curse against their lifeⁿ—

if those of my household have never said,

‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’^o—

but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,

for my door was always open to the traveler^p—

if I have concealed^q my sin as people do,

by hiding^r my guilt in my heart

because I so feared the crowd^s

and so dreaded the contempt of the clans

that I kept silent^t and would not go outside—

(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!^u

I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser^v put his indictment in writing.

Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,^w

I would put it on like a crown.^x

I would give him an account of my every step;^y

I would present it to him as to a ruler.^z)—

“if my land cries out against me^a

and all its furrows are wet^b with tears,

if I have devoured its yield without payment^c

or broken the spirit of its tenants,^d

then let briers^e come up instead of wheat

and stinkweed^f instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.^g