Job 31
- 1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin? Begin Abide·
- 2
For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high? Begin Abide·
- 3
Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity? Begin Abide·
- 4
Does He not see my ways and count my every step? Begin Abide·
- 5
If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, Begin Abide·
- 6
let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. Begin Abide·
- 7
If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, Begin Abide·
- 8
then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. Begin Abide·
- 9
If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door, Begin Abide·
- 10
then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her. Begin Abide·
- 11
For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. Begin Abide·
- 12
For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. Begin Abide·
- 13
If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, Begin Abide·
- 14
what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? Begin Abide·
- 15
Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? Begin Abide·
- 16
If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, Begin Abide·
- 17
if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— Begin Abide·
- 18
though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— Begin Abide·
- 19
if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, Begin Abide·
- 20
if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep, Begin Abide·
- 21
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate, Begin Abide·
- 22
then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket. Begin Abide·
- 23
For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower. Begin Abide·
- 24
If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, Begin Abide·
- 25
if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, Begin Abide·
- 26
if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, Begin Abide·
- 27
so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, Begin Abide·
- 28
this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high. Begin Abide·
- 29
If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him— Begin Abide·
- 30
I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse— Begin Abide·
- 31
if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’— Begin Abide·
- 32
but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler— Begin Abide·
- 33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart, Begin Abide·
- 34
because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside— Begin Abide·
- 35
(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment. Begin Abide·
- 36
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. Begin Abide·
- 37
I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— Begin Abide·
- 38
if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, Begin Abide·
- 39
if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, Begin Abide·
- 40
then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job. Begin Abide·