Job 31

1 “I made a covenant for my eyes, And how do I attend to a virgin?

I made a covenant with mine eyes; how then should I look upon a maid?

2 And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?

For what would be the portion of God from above, and the heritage of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?

Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?

4 Does He not see my ways, And number all my steps?

Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?

5 If I have walked with vanity, And my foot hurries to deceit,

If I have walked with vanity, and my foot hath hasted to deceit —

6 He weighs me in righteous balances, And God knows my integrity.

Let me be weighed in a just balance, that God may know mine integrity —

7 If my step turns aside from the way, And my heart has gone after my eyes, And blemish has cleaved to my hands,

If my step hath turned out of the way, and my heart walked after mine eyes, and if any spot hath cleaved to my hands;

8 Let me sow—and another eat, And let my products be rooted out.

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman, And I laid wait by the opening of my neighbor,

If my heart have been enticed unto a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbour's door;

10 Let my wife grind to another, And let others bend over her.

Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

11 For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;

For that were a heinous crime; yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

12 For it [is] a fire, it consumes to destruction, And takes root among all my increase,

For it is a fire that consumeth unto destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

13 If I despise the cause of my manservant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,

If I did despise the cause of my man-servant, or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me —

14 Then what do I do when God arises? And when He inspects, What do I answer Him?

What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when He remembereth, what shall I answer Him?

15 Did He that made me in the womb not make him? Indeed, One prepares us in the womb.

Did not He that made me in the womb make him? And did not One fashion us in the womb?

16 If I withhold the poor from pleasure, And consume the eyes of the widow,

If I have withheld aught that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

17 And I eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan has nothing [to] eat of it,

Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof —

18 (But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led),

Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, and I have been her guide from my mother's womb.

19 If I see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering for the needy,

If I have seen any wanderer in want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;

20 If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He does not warm himself,

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

21 If I have waved my hand at the fatherless, When I see [him] in the gate of my court,

If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate;

22 Let my shoulder fall from its blade, And the bone from my arm be broken.

Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

23 For calamity [from] God [is] a dread to me, And because of His excellence I am not able.

For calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of His majesty I could do nothing.

24 If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, My trust;

If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold: 'Thou art my confidence';

25 If I rejoice because my wealth [is] great, And because my hand has found abundance,

If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;

26 If I see the light when it shines, And the precious moon walking,

If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

27 And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand kisses my mouth,

And my heart hath been secretly enticed, and my mouth hath kissed my hand;

28 It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.

This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have lied to God that is above.

29 If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,

If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or exulted when evil found him —

30 Indeed, I have not permitted my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.

Yea, I suffered not my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse.

31 If not, say, O men of my tent: O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.

If the men of my tent said not: 'Who can find one that hath not been satisfied with his meat?'

32 A stranger does not lodge in the street, I open my doors to the traveler.

The stranger did not lodge in the street; my doors I opened to the roadside.

33 If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, To hide my iniquity in my bosom,

If after the manner of men I covered my transgressions, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom —

34 Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families frightens me, Then I am silent, I do not go out of the opening.

Because I feared the great multitude, and the most contemptible among families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door.

35 Who gives to me a hearing? Behold, my mark. The Mighty One answers me, And my adversary has written a bill.

Oh that I had one to hear me! — Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me — and that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath written!

36 If not—on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it [as] a crown on myself.

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

37 The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.

I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

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

If my land cry out against me, and the furrows thereof weep together;

39 If I consumed its strength without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,

If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the tillers thereof to be disappointed —

40 Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed!” The words of Job are finished.

Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and noisome weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.