1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a (Matt. 5:28) young woman?
2 For what is the Job 20:29 allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 (2 Chr. 16:9); Job 24:23; 28:24; 34:21; 36:7; (Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 32:19) 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,
6 Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my Job 23:10; 27:5, 6 integrity.
7 If my step has turned from the way, Or Num. 15:39; (Eccl. 11:9); Ezek. 6:9; (Matt. 5:29) my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8 Then Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:30, 38; Job 20:18; Mic. 6:15 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,
10 Then let my wife grind for Deut. 28:30;2 Sam. 12:11; Jer. 8:10 another, And let others bow down over her.
11 For that would be wickedness; Yes, Gen. 38:24; (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22); Job 31:28 it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.
13 “If I have (Deut. 24:14, 15) despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,
14 What then shall I do when (Ps. 44:21) God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15 Job 34:19; Prov. 14:31; 22:2; (Mal. 2:10) 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 Job 29:12 fail,
17 Or 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 );
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his heart has not (Deut. 24:13) blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand Job 22:9 against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;
22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23 For Is. 13:6 destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
24 “If (Matt. 6:19, 20; Mark 10:23–25) I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘ You are my confidence’;
25 Job 1:3, 10; Ps. 62:10 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much;
26 (Deut. 4:19; 17:3); Ezek. 8:16 If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.
29 “If (Prov. 17:5; 24:17); Obad. 12 I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him
30 (Matt. 5:44) (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);
31 If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
32 Gen. 19:2, 3 ( But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 If I have covered my transgressions Gen. 3:10; (Prov. 28:13) as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because I feared the great Ex. 23:2 multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door—
35 Job 19:7; 30:20, 24, 28 Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, Job 13:22, 24; 33:10 that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me 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 Job 24:6, 10–12; (James 5:4) I have eaten its fruit without money, Or 1 Kin. 21:19 caused its owners to lose their lives;
40 Then let Gen. 3:18 thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.