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, and I will not think 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!
Now what portion has God given from above? and is there an inheritance [given] of the Mighty One from the highest?
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.
Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do 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.
Will he not see my way, and number all my steps?
5 [“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
But if I had gone with scorners, and if too my foot has 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).
(for I am weighed in a just balance, and the Lord knows my innocence: )
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 foot has turned aside out of the way, or if mine heart has followed mine eye, and if too I have touched gifts with 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 others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth.
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 has gone forth after another man's wife, and if I laid wait at her doors;
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 also please another, and let my children be brought low.
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, [in the case] of defiling [another] man's wife.
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 burning on every side, and whoever it attacks, it utterly destroys.
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,
And if too I despised the judgement of my servant or [my] handmaid, when they pleaded 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 if the Lord should try me? and if also he should at all visit me, can I make an answer?
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].
Were not they too formed as I also was formed in the womb? yes, we were formed in the same 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]),
But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail.
And if too I ate my morsel alone, and did not impart [of it] to the orphan;
(for I nourished [them] as a father from my youth and guided [them] 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],
And if too I overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him;
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, ]
and if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were [not] warmed with the fleece of my lambs;
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 lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior [to his]:
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.
let them my shoulder start from the blade-bone, and my arm be crushed off from the elbow.
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 the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I can’t bear up by reason of his burden.
24 “If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
If I made gold my treasure, and if too I trusted the precious stone;
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
and if too I rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if too I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
(do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? for they have not [power to continue]: )
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it:
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].
let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I [should] have lied against the Lord Most High.
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].
And if too I was glad at the fall of mine enemies, and mine heart said, Aha!
let then mine ear hear my curse, and let me be a byword amongst my people in my affliction.
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]!
And if too my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:
for the stranger did not lodge without, and my door was opened to every one that came: )
33 Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
or if too having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin;
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.
(for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them: ) and if too I permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom:
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 a hearer, ) and if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and [as to] the written charge which I had against any one,
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].
I would place [it] as a chaplet on my shoulders, and read it.
37 I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor:
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 at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned 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];
and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking [anything] from [him]:
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].
then let the nettle come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.
