Job 31

Modern

Literal

Job’s Final Appeal

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes.

How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

¹“ I have made A covenant with my eyes; and how could I gaze upon a virgin?

²For what is the allotment of God from above,

or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

²For what would be the portion of God from above, and the inheritance of Shaddai in the heights?

³Does not disaster come to the unjust

and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

³Is not disaster for the perverse one and calamity for the workers of iniquity?

⁴Does He not see my ways

and count my every step?

⁴Does He not see my ways, and count all my steps?

⁵If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has rushed to deceit,

⁵If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried toward deceit,

⁶let God weigh me with honest scales,

that He may know my integrity.

⁶let Him weigh me in the scales of justice, and let God know my integrity.

⁷If my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has followed my eyes,

or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

⁷If my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has walked, following my eyes, and on my palms has stuck a spot,

⁸then may another eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

⁸then let me sow, and another may eat, and may my crops be uprooted!

⁹If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife,

or I have lurked at his door,

⁹If my heart has been enticed over a woman, or I have lain in wait at the door of my neighbor,

¹⁰then may my own wife grind grain for another,

and may other men sleep with her.

¹⁰then let my wife grind for another, and others bend down over her.

¹¹For that would be a heinous crime,

an iniquity to be judged.

¹¹For it is wickedness, and it is to be judged an iniquity.

¹²For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon;^a

it would root out my entire harvest.

¹²For it is a fire that devours unto Abaddon, and it would uproot among all my produce.

¹³If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant

when they made a complaint against me,

¹³If I have rejected the justice of my manservant or my maidservant, in their dispute with me,

¹⁴what will I do when God rises to judge?

How will I answer when called to account?

¹⁴then what shall I do when God arises? And when He inspects, how shall I answer him?

¹⁵Did not He who made me in the womb also make them?

Did not the same One form us in the womb?

¹⁵Did not the One making me in the belly make them, and that One prepare us in the womb?

¹⁶If I have denied the desires of the poor

or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

¹⁶If I have withheld the poor from pleasure and made to fail the eyes of the widow,

¹⁷if I have eaten my morsel alone,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

¹⁷and have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless could not eat from it—

¹⁸though from my youth I reared him as would a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

¹⁸indeed from my youth I brought him up as a father, and from the womb of my mother I guided her—

¹⁹if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing,

or a needy man without a cloak,

¹⁹if I have seen one perishing from lack of clothing, or there being no covering for the needy,

²⁰if his heart has not blessed me^a

for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

²⁰if his loins have not blessed me for warming him by the fleece of my sheep,

²¹if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless

because I saw that I had support in the gate,

²¹if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help at the gate,

²²then may my arm fall from my shoulder

and be torn from its socket.

²²then let my upper arm fall from its shoulder, and my arm be broken off from its socket.

²³For calamity from God terrifies me,

and His splendor I cannot overpower.

²³For a calamity from God is dread to me, and His majesty I cannot overpower.

²⁴If I have put my trust in gold

or called pure gold my security,

²⁴If I have set my confidence upon gold, or to fine gold I have said, “My trust;”

²⁵if I have rejoiced in my great wealth

because my hand had gained so much,

²⁵if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had acquired much;

²⁶if I have beheld the sun^a in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

²⁶if I have seen the light when it shines, or the moon moving in splendor,

²⁷so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

²⁷so that my heart has been enticed in secret, and my hand has kissed my mouth,

²⁸this would also be an iniquity to be judged,

for I would have denied God on high.

²⁸then this also be judged an iniquity, for I would have lied to God above.

²⁹If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin,

or exulted when evil befell him—

²⁹If I have rejoiced in the destruction of one hating me, or raised myself up because evil found him—

³⁰I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by asking for his life with a curse—

³⁰though I had not given my mouth to sin by asking with a curse for his life—

³¹if the men of my house have not said,

‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

³¹if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who will give from his flesh not having been satisfied?’—

³²but no stranger had to lodge on the street,

for my door has been open to the traveler—

³²A sojourner does not lodge in the street, for I have opened my doors to the traveler—

³³if I have covered my transgressions like Adam^a

by hiding my guilt in my heart,

³³if I have covered my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my guilt in my bosom,

³⁴because I greatly feared the crowds

and the contempt of the clans terrified me,

so that I kept silent

and would not go outside—

³⁴because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of the clans terrified me and I kept silent, not going out the door—

³⁵(Oh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my signature.

Let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser compose an indictment.

³⁵(Who will give to me one listening to me? Behold, my mark and let Shaddai answer me! And the bill the man of my dispute that has written!

³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder

and wear it like a crown.

³⁶If not, I would take it up upon my shoulder, and bind it as crowns to myself.

³⁷I would give account of all my steps;

I would approach Him like a prince.)—

³⁷The count of my steps I would declare to him; like a prince I would approach Him.)—

³⁸if my land cries out against me

and its furrows weep together,

³⁸If my land cries out against me, and together its furrows weep;

³⁹if I have devoured its produce without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

³⁹if I have eaten its power without silver, and I have caused to breathe out the soul of its workers,

⁴⁰then let briers grow instead of wheat

and stinkweed instead of barley.”

Thus conclude the words of Job.

⁴⁰then in place of the wheat let a thorn come forth, and weeds in place of barley.” The words of Job have ended.