31
1“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a ⚓young woman?
2For what is the ⚓allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4⚓Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?
5“If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
6Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my ⚓integrity.
7If my step has turned from the way,
Or ⚓my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8Then⚓let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.
9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10Then let my wife grind for ⚓another,
And let others bow down over her.
11For that would be wickedness;
Yes, ⚓it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.
13“If I have ⚓despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,
14What then shall I do when ⚓God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15⚓Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16“If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to ⚓fail,
17Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18(But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);
19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20If his heart has not ⚓blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21If I have raised my hand ⚓against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23For ⚓destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
24“If⚓ I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
25⚓If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gained much;
26⚓If I have observed the sun when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,
27So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.
29“If⚓ I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him
30⚓(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his soul);
31If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
32⚓(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33If I have covered my transgressions ⚓as Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34Because I feared the great ⚓multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—
35⚓Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, ⚓that the Almighty would answer me,
That my Prosecutor had written a book!
36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;
37I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.
38“If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39If ⚓I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or ⚓caused its owners to lose their lives;
40Then let ⚓thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.