Job 31
1 I vowed to myself never to look with desire at young women.
[Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis, ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
2 What should people expect to receive from God? What reward should the Almighty on high give them?
Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hæreditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
3 Isn't it disaster for the wicked and destruction for those who do wrong?
Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus injustitiam?
4 Doesn't God see everything I do—even count every step I take?
Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
5 Have I lived a deceitful life? Have I been eager to tell lies?
Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus,
6 No! Let God weigh me on the scales of his justice and let him discover my integrity.
appendat me in statera justa, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
7 If I have wandered from God's way, if I have let what I see become my desires, if there's any stain of sin on my hands,
Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula,
8 then let someone else eat what I have sown, and all that I have grown be uprooted.
seram, et alius comedat, et progenies mea eradicetur.
9 If a woman has seduced me, or if I have looked for an opportunity to sleep with my neighbor's wife,
Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum,
10 then let my wife serve another, let other men sleep with her.
scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
11 For that would be wicked, a sin deserving punishment,
Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
12 for this sin is like a fire that leads to destruction, destroying everything I have.
Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
13 If I had refused to listen to my menservants or maidservants when they brought their complaints to me,
Si contempsi subire judicium cum servo meo et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me:
14 what would I do when God came to judge me? How would I reply if he investigated me?
quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad judicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?
15 Didn't the same God make all of us?
Numquid non in utero fecit me, qui et illum operatus est, et formavit me in vulva unus?
16 Have I refused to give the poor what they needed, or caused widows to despair?
Si negavi quod volebant pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci;
17 Have I even eaten just a piece of bread by myself? Haven't I always shared my food with orphans?
si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea
18 From when I was young I was a father to orphans and took care of widows.
(quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum);
19 If ever I saw someone needing clothes, the poor without anything to wear,
si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem;
20 they always thanked me for the wool clothing that kept them warm.
si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est;
21 If I raised my hand to hit an orphan, confident that if it came to court the judges would be on my side,
si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
22 then let my shoulder be pulled from its joint, my arm wrenched out of its socket.
humerus meus a junctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
23 Since I'm terrified of what punishment God may have in store for me, and because of his majesty, I could never do this.
Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus ejus ferre non potui.
24 Have I put my trust in gold, calling fine gold, ‘My security’?
Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea;
25 Have I delighted in being rich, happy at all my wealth I had gained?
si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea;
26 Have I looked at the sun shining so brilliantly or the moon moving in majesty across the sky
si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare,
27 and been tempted to secretly worship them by kissing my hand to them in devotion?
et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo:
28 This too would be a sin deserving punishment for it would mean I had denied God above.
quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
29 Have I ever been happy when disaster destroyed those who hated me, or celebrated when evil took them down?
Si gavisus sum ad ruinam ejus qui me oderat, et exsultavi quod invenisset eum malum:
30 I have never allowed my mouth to sin by putting a curse on someone's life.
non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam ejus.
31 Haven't my family asked, ‘Is there anyone who has not eaten as much as they wanted of his food?’
Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur?
32 I have never let strangers sleep in the street; I have opened my doors to travelers.
foris non mansit peregrinus: ostium meum viatori patuit.
33 Have I concealed my sins from others, hiding my wrongdoing deep inside me?
Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam;
34 Was I afraid of what everybody else would think, scared of the contempt families would show me, so that I kept quiet and didn't go outside?
si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
35 Why won't anyone listen to what I'm saying! I'm signing my name to endorse everything I've said. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write down what he is charging me with.
Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens, et librum scribat ipse qui judicat,
36 I would hold them up high; I would wear them on my head like a crown.
ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
37 I would explain to him everything I'd done; I would hold my head high before him.
Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
38 If my land has cried out against me; if her furrows have wept over me;
Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci ejus deflent:
39 if I have taken its crops without payment or if I have caused harm to the farmers;
si fructus ejus comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum ejus afflixi:
40 then let thorns grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.] Finita sunt verba Job.
