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 for my eyes, And how do I attend to 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!
And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?
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 not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to 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.
Does He not 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 vanity, And my foot hurries 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).
He weighs me in righteous balances, And God knows my 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 turns aside from the way, And my heart has gone after my eyes, And blemish has 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.
Let me sow—and another eat, And let my products 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 has been enticed by a woman, And I laid wait by the opening of my neighbor,
10 I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
Let my wife grind to another, And let others bend over her.
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;
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, it consumes to destruction, And takes root among all my 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 despise the cause of my manservant, And of my handmaid, In their contending 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]
Then what do I do when God arises? And when He inspects, What do 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 He that made me in the womb not make him? Indeed, One prepares 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 withhold the poor from pleasure, And consume the eyes of the widow,
And I eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan has nothing [to] eat of it,
(But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led),
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 see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering for the needy,
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 from the fleece of my sheep He does not warm himself,
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 waved my hand at the fatherless, When I see [him] in the gate of my court,
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 my shoulder fall from its blade, And the bone from my arm be broken.
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 dread to me, And because of His excellence I am not able.
24 “If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, My trust;
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
If I rejoice because my wealth [is] great, And because my hand has found abundance,
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
If I see the light when it shines, And the precious moon walking,
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand kisses my mouth,
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].
It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God 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 rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,
Indeed, I have not permitted my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.
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 not, say, O men of my tent: O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.
A stranger does not lodge in the street, I open my doors to the traveler.
33 Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, To hide my 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 fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families frightens me, Then I am silent, I do not go out of the opening.
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.
Who gives to me a hearing? Behold, my mark. The Mighty One answers me, And my adversary has written a bill.
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].
If not—on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it [as] a crown on myself.
37 I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach 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 cries out against me, And together its furrows weep,
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 consumed its strength without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,
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].
Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed!” The words of Job are finished.
