1 “I have cut a covenant with my eyes;How then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 “And what is the portion of God from aboveOr the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 “Is it not disaster to the unjustAnd misfortune to those who work iniquity?
4 “Does He not see my waysAnd number all my steps?
5 ¶“If I have walked with worthlessness,And my foot has hastened after deceit,
6 Let Him weigh me with 31:6Lit righteous; Job 8:3, 6; 29:14 just scales,And let God know my integrity.
7 “If my step has turned from the way,Or my heart 31:7Lit walked after followed my eyes,Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me sow and another eat,And let my 31:8Or offspring crops be uprooted.
9 ¶“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,Or I have lied in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife grind for another,And let others 31:10Sexual relations kneel down over her.
11 “For that would be lewdness;Moreover, it would be an iniquitypunishable byjudges.
12 “For it would be fire that consumes to 31:12Lit the realm of destruction Abaddon,And would uproot all my 31:12Or yield produce.
13 ¶“If I have rejected the justice of my male or female 31:13Or servants, cf. Job 1:3 slavesWhen they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?And when He calls me to account,withwhat will I respond to Him?
15 “Did not He who made me in the womb make him,And the same one fashion us in the womb?
16 ¶“If I have held back the poor fromtheirdesire,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,And the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me aswitha father,And from the womb of my mother I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,Or that the needy had no covering,
20 If his loins have not blessed me,And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have waved my hand against the orphanBecause I saw my help in the gate,
22 Let my shoulder fall from the 31:22Or back; lit shoulder socket,And my arm be broken off 31:22Lit from the bone of the upper arm at the elbow.
23 “For disaster from God is a dread to me,And because of His exaltedness I can do nothing.
24 ¶“If I have put my confidenceingold,And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have been glad because my wealth was great,And because my hand had foundsomuch,
26 If I have looked at the 31:26Lit light sun when it shoneOr the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart became secretly enticed,And my hand 31:27Lit kissed my mouth threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been an iniquitycalling for 31:28Lit judges judgment,For I would have denied God above.
29 ¶“If I have been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,Or 31:29Lit lifted myself up exulted when evil found him—
30 “But I have not given over my 31:30Lit palate mouth to sinBy asking for his life in a curse—
31 “If the men of my tent have not said,‘Who can 31:31 Lit give find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’—
32 “The sojourner has not lodged outside,ForI have opened my doors to the 31:32M.T. way traveler—
33 “If I have covered my transgressions like 31:33Or mankind Adam,By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
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!Behold, here is my 31:35Lit mark signature;Let the Almighty answer me!And the indictment which my accuser has written,
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;I would bind it to myself like a crown.
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 31:39Lit strength fruit without money,Or have caused 31:39Lit the soul of its owners to expire its owners to lose their lives,
40 Let briars come out instead of wheat,And stinkweed instead of barley.”The words of Job are ended.