Job 31

1 A covenant had I made with my eyes: how then should I fix my look on a virgin?

“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].

2 And what then would have been my portion of God from above? and what lot of the Almighty from on high?

[If I did not do what I promised, ] what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]? Almighty [God] would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!

3 Is not calamity [ready] for the unjust? and misfortune for the wrong-doers?

[Previously I thought that] surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities, and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.

4 Behold, he truly seeth my ways, and numbereth all my steps;

God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do, [so why is he causing me to suffer?] [It is as though] he counts every step that I take.

5 [And knoweth] whether I have walked with vain desires, or if my foot hath hastened after deceit.

[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.

6 Let him weigh me then in a righteous balance, and let God acknowledge my integrity,

I request only that God judge me fairly [MET], and if he does that, he will know that I (am innocent/have not done what is wrong).

7 If my step have turned aside from the [proper] way, and my heart have walked after my eyes, and if any blemish have cleaved to my hands:

If [it were true that] I have stopped living righteously, or [that] I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY], or [that] I am guilty of any other sin,

8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; and let what I have growing be rooted out.

then I hope/wish that when I plant [seeds], someone else will [harvest the crops and] eat [them] and that others will uproot the [fruit trees] that I planted.

9 If my heart have been beguiled toward a woman, or if I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door:

“If [it were true that] I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife, or [that] I have hidden myself and waited outside [the] door [to] her [house],

10 Then may my wife labor at the mill for another, and may strangers ill-use her;

I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.

11 For this would be incest; yea, it would be an iniquity [to be punished by] the judges;

[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.

12 For it would be a fire that consumeth down to the place of corruption, and would root out all my products.

My [committing adultery] would [produce in me a fire like] [MET] the fire that burns people in hell, and it would burn up everything that I own. (questioned)

13 If ever I cast aside the justice due to my man-servant and my maid-servant, when they contended with me:

“And, if [it were true that] I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants when they complained to me about something,

14 What then could I do when God should rise up? and when he should investigate, what could I answer him?

God would arise [and declare that he would punish me]; and when he would do that, what would I do? If he would ask me [about what I have done], (what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.) [RHQ]

15 Did not he that made me make him born or a woman? and did not the same one fashion us in the womb?

God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ]; surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ]; [so we all should behave toward each other equally].

16 If ever I denied the wish of the indigent, or ever allowed the eyes of the widow to fall [in vain hopes];

“I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if [it were true that] I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or [that] I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or [that] I caused widows to live (in despair/without hope [that they would receive any help from anyone]),

17 Or if ever I ate my bread by myself alone, and the fatherless did not eat thereof;

18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as though we were of one father, and I have guided her [as though she was sprung] from my mother's womb; )

19 If ever I saw any one perishing for want of clothing, or the needy without covering:

or [that] I had seen people die [from cold] because they had no clothes, or [that] I had seen poor people who did not have clothes [to keep them warm],

20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he have not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

and they were not able to become warm [from clothes made] from the wool of my sheep with the result that they thanked me for [giving them clothes, ]

21 If I have swung my hand against the fatherless, because I saw in the gate those that would help me:

or if [it were true that] I threatened to strike any orphan because I knew that the elders at the city gates would (decide in my favor);

22 Then may my shoulder fall from my shoulder-blade, and my arm be broken from the channel-bone;

[if those things were true about me], I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out and my arm be torn from my shoulder.

23 For dreaded by me was the calamitous punishment of God, and against his highness I can accomplish nothing.

I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster [if I did any of those evil things], and I would not have been able to endure the powerful [things that he would do to punish me].

24 If I have made gold my confidence, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my trust:

“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],

25 If ever I rejoiced because my wealth was abundant, and because my hand had gotten much;

or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,

26 If ever I looked at the light [of the sun] when he shone brightly and on the moon walking in splendor:

or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon

27 And my heart became misled in secret, and my hand kissed my mouth:

and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for thus would I have denied the God that is above.

those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished, because I would have been rejecting God [by doing those things].

29 If ever I rejoiced at the downfall of him that hated me, or was elated when evil befell him; —

“[It is not true that] I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me with the result that God would cause them to die. It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].

30 But I suffered not my mouth to sin by denouncing with a curse his soul: —

31 If the men of my tent said not, Oh is there one that is not satisfied of his flesh; —

[It is also not true that] I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent or that I did not open my doors to them, but [forced them to] sleep in the streets. [All] the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!

32 In the street a stranger had not to lodge; my doors I held open to the roadside;

33 If I covered up my transgressions like a common man, by hiding in my bosom my iniquity;

Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;

34 Because I dreaded the great multitude, or because the contempt of families did terrify me, so that I kept silence, and dared not to go out of the door; —

and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home because I was very (afraid of/worried about) what people would say [about me], and that they would hate/scorn me.

35 Oh who will bring me one that would hear me! behold, here is my plea; may the Almighty answer me; and any record which my opponent may have written, —

“I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying! I solemnly declare [that all that I have said is true]. I wish that those who oppose me would write down [on a scroll] the evil things that they say that I did.

36 Surely upon my shoulder would I carry it: I would bind it as a crown unto me.

[If they did that, ] I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, [in order that everyone could see it].

37 The number of my steps would I tell him: as [to] a prince would I go near unto him.—

I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.

38 If my land ever cried out because of me, or if its furrows wept together;

If [it were true that] I have stolen land, with the result that [it was as though] its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;

39 If I ever consumed its strength without payment, or caused the soul of its owners to grieve:

or [if it were true that] I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields without paying [for those crops], with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died [from hunger];

40 Then may instead of wheat, thorns come forth, and instead of barley, cockle. (Here end the words of Job.)

then I wish/desire that thorns would grow [in my fields] instead of wheat. May bad weeds grow instead of barley!” That is the end of what Job said [to his three friends].