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 my eyes; how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
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.
Doesn’t he see my ways, and count 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 has hurried 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 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 has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck 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. Yes, 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 has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbour’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 for another, and let others sleep with her.
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be 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 consumes to destruction, and would root out 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 have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female 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 will I do when God rises up? When he visits, what will 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].
Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him? Didn’t 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 has not eaten of it
(no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, I have guided her 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 heart hasn’t blessed me, if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
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 my 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. Because 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, ‘You are 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 seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendour,
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from 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].
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have denied the God who 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 who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
(I have certainly not allowed 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 who has not been filled with his meat?’
(the foreigner has not camped 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 my iniquity in my heart,
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 didn’t go 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! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!
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 on my shoulder, and I would bind it to 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 to him the number of my steps. I would go near to him like a prince.
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 its furrows 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 its fruits without money, or have caused its owners 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 briers grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
