Job 31
1 “I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?
2 [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!
For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 [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.
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4 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.
Doth not he see my ways, And number all my steps?
5 [“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot hath hasted to deceit
6 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).
(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity);
7 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,
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 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.
Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 “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],
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door;
10 I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
12 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)
For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.
13 “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,
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
14 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]
What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15 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].
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “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]),
If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother’s womb);
19 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],
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
20 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, ]
If his loins have not blessed me, And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 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);
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:
22 [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.
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.
23 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].
For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28 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].
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above.
29 “[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].
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him
(Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);
31 [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]!
If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveller);
33 Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
34 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.
Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—
35 “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.
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 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].
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown:
37 I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him.
38 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;
If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;
39 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];
If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40 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].
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
