Job

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Job Asserts His Integrity

31 
“I have made a covenant with my eyes;

How then could I look at a virgin?

2 And what is the portion of God from above,

Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is it not disaster to the criminal,

And misfortune to those who practice injustice?

4 Does He not see my ways,

And count all my steps?

5 “If I have walked with deception,

And my foot has hurried after deceit,

6 Let Him weigh me with [a]accurate scales,

And let God know my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way,

Or my heart [b]followed my eyes,

Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

8 Let me sow and another eat,

And let my [c]crops be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,

10 May my wife grind grain for another,

And let others [d]kneel down over her.

11 For that would be a lustful crime;

Moreover, it would be wrongdoing punishable by judges.

12 For it would be fire that consumes to [e]Abaddon,

And would uproot all my [f]increase.

13 “If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves

When they filed a complaint against me,

14 What then could I do when God arises?

And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?

15 Did He who made me in the womb not make him,

And the same one create us in the womb?

16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the orphan has not [g]shared it

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

And from [h]my infancy I guided her),

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or that the needy had no covering,

20 If his waist has not [i]thanked me,

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

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,

Because I saw [j]I had support in the gate,

22 May my shoulder fall from its [k]socket,

And my arm be broken off [l]at the elbow.

23 For disaster from God is a terror to me,

And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

24 “If I have put my confidence in gold,

And called fine gold my trust,

25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had obtained so much;

26 If I have looked at the [m]sun when it shone,

Or the moon going in splendor,

27 And my heart was secretly enticed,

And my hand [n]threw a kiss from my mouth,

28 That too would have been a guilty deed calling for [o]judgment,

For I would have denied God above.

29 “Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,

Or become excited when evil found him?

30 [p]No, I have not [q]allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for his life in a curse.

31 Have the people of my tent not said,

‘Who can [r]find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,

For I have opened my doors to the [s]traveler.

33 Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man,

By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,

34 Because I feared 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!

Here is my [t]signature;

Let the Almighty answer me!

And the indictment which my adversary has written,

36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,

I would tie it to myself like a garland.

37 I 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;

39 If I have eaten its [u]fruit without money,

Or have caused [v]its owners to lose their lives,

40 May the thorn-bush [w]grow instead of wheat,

And stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Footnotes

  1. Job 31:6 Lit just
  2. Job 31:7 Lit walked after
  3. Job 31:8 Or offspring
  4. Job 31:10 I.e., have sexual relations with her
  5. Job 31:12 I.e., the place of destruction
  6. Job 31:12 Or yield
  7. Job 31:17 Lit eaten from it
  8. Job 31:18 Lit my mother’s womb
  9. Job 31:20 Lit blessed; i.e., for clothing
  10. Job 31:21 Lit my help
  11. Job 31:22 Lit neck-joint
  12. Job 31:22 Lit from the bone of the upper arm
  13. Job 31:26 Lit light
  14. Job 31:27 Lit kissed my mouth
  15. Job 31:28 Lit judges
  16. Job 31:30 Lit And
  17. Job 31:30 Lit given my palate
  18. Job 31:31 Lit give
  19. Job 31:32 MT way
  20. Job 31:35 Lit mark
  21. Job 31:39 Lit strength
  22. Job 31:39 Lit the soul of its owners to expire
  23. Job 31:40 Lit come forth