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31 A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what -- do I attend to a virgin?

And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?

Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?

Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number?

If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit,

He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity.

If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish,

Let me sow -- and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.

If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait,

10 Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.

11 For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;

12 For a fire it [is], to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,

13 If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,

14 Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him?

15 Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One.

16 If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,

17 And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,

18 (But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.)

19 If I see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,

20 If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,

21 If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in [him] the gate of my court,

22 My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken.

23 For a dread unto me [is] calamity [from] God, And because of His excellency I am not able.

24 If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, `My trust,'

25 If I rejoice because great [is] my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,

26 If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,

27 And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,

28 It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.

29 If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,

30 Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.

31 If not -- say ye, O men of my tent, `O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.'

32 In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open.

33 If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity,

34 Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening.

35 Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.

36 If not -- on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself.

37 The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.

38 If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,

39 If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,

40 Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes(A)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.(B)
For what is our lot(C) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?(D)
Is it not ruin(E) for the wicked,
    disaster(F) for those who do wrong?(G)
Does he not see my ways(H)
    and count my every step?(I)

“If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit(J)
let God weigh me(K) in honest scales(L)
    and he will know that I am blameless(M)
if my steps have turned from the path,(N)
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands(O) have been defiled,(P)
then may others eat what I have sown,(Q)
    and may my crops be uprooted.(R)

“If my heart has been enticed(S) by a woman,(T)
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 then may my wife grind(U) another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.(V)
11 For that would have been wicked,(W)
    a sin to be judged.(X)
12 It is a fire(Y) that burns to Destruction[a];(Z)
    it would have uprooted my harvest.(AA)

13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(AB)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,(AC)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(AD)
    What will I answer when called to account?(AE)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(AF)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(AG)

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor(AH)
    or let the eyes of the widow(AI) grow weary,(AJ)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless(AK)
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow(AL)
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(AM)
    or the needy(AN) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(AO)
    for warming them with the fleece(AP) from my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,(AQ)
    knowing that I had influence in court,(AR)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.(AS)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,(AT)
    and for fear of his splendor(AU) I could not do such things.(AV)

24 “If I have put my trust in gold(AW)
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’(AX)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,(AY)
    the fortune my hands had gained,(AZ)
26 if I have regarded the sun(BA) in its radiance
    or the moon(BB) moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed(BC)
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,(BD)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,(BE)
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.(BF)

29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune(BG)
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him(BH)
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life(BI)
31 if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’(BJ)
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler(BK)
33 if I have concealed(BL) my sin as people do,[b]
    by hiding(BM) my guilt in my heart
34 because I so feared the crowd(BN)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent(BO) and would not go outside—

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!(BP)
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser(BQ) put his indictment in writing.
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,(BR)
    I would put it on like a crown.(BS)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;(BT)
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.(BU))—

38 “if my land cries out against me(BV)
    and all its furrows are wet(BW) with tears,
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment(BX)
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,(BY)
40 then let briers(BZ) come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed(CA) instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.(CB)

Footnotes

  1. Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
  2. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did