< Job 31 >

1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
Pepigi foedus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
2 For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
3 Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam?
4 Does He not see my ways and count my every step?
Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
5 If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,
Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus:
6 let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.
Appendat me in statera iusta, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
7 If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,
Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutus est oculus meus cor meum, et si manibus meis adhaesit macula:
8 then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
Seram, et alius comedat: et progenies mea eradicetur.
9 If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,
Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum:
10 then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.
Scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
11 For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged.
Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
12 For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest.
Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
13 If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,
Si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo, et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me.
14 what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account?
Quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus? et cum quaesierit, quid respondebo illi?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
Numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est: et formavit me in vulva unus?
16 If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,
Si negavi, quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduae expectare feci:
17 if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—
Si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea:
18 though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—
(Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio: et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum.)
19 if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,
Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem:
20 if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,
Si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est:
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
Si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
22 then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket.
Humerus meus a iunctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
23 For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.
Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus eius ferre non potui.
24 If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,
Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea.
25 if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,
Si laetatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea.
26 if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare:
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
Et laetatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo.
28 this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.
Quae est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
29 If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—
Si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius, qui me oderat, et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum.
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—
Non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam eius.
31 if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—
Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur?
32 but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—
Foris non mansit peregrinus, ostium meum viatori patuit.
33 if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam.
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—
Si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
35 (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.
Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens: et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat.
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.
Ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
37 I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—
Per singulos gradus meos pronunciabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
38 if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,
Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent:
39 if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
Si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum eius afflixi:
40 then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.
Pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.

< Job 31 >