Job 31
1 “I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
| ברית כרתי לעיני ומה אתבונן על בתולה׃ |
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!
| ומה חלק אלוה ממעל ונחלת שדי ממרמים׃ |
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.
| הלא איד לעול ונכר לפעלי און׃ |
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.
| הלא הוא יראה דרכי וכל צעדי יספור׃ |
5 [“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
| אם הלכתי עם שוא ותחש על מרמה רגלי׃ |
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).
| ישקלני במאזני צדק וידע אלוה תמתי׃ |
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,
| אם תטה אשרי מני הדרך ואחר עיני הלך לבי ובכפי דבק מאום׃ |
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.
| אזרעה ואחר יאכל וצאצאי ישרשו׃ |
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],
| אם נפתה לבי על אשה ועל פתח רעי ארבתי׃ |
10 I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
| תטחן לאחר אשתי ועליה יכרעון אחרין׃ |
11 [For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
| כי הוא זמה והיא עון פלילים׃ |
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)
| כי אש היא עד אבדון תאכל ובכל תבואתי תשרש׃ |
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,
| אם אמאס משפט עבדי ואמתי ברבם עמדי׃ |
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]
| ומה אעשה כי יקום אל וכי יפקד מה אשיבנו׃ |
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].
| הלא בבטן עשני עשהו ויכננו ברחם אחד׃ |
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]),
| אם אמנע מחפץ דלים ועיני אלמנה אכלה׃ |
| ואכל פתי לבדי ולא אכל יתום ממנה׃ |
| כי מנעורי גדלני כאב ומבטן אמי אנחנה׃ |
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],
| אם אראה אובד מבלי לבוש ואין כסות לאביון׃ |
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, ]
| אם לא ברכוני חלצו ומגז כבשי יתחמם׃ |
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);
| אם הניפותי על יתום ידי כי אראה בשער עזרתי׃ |
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.
| כתפי משכמה תפול ואזרעי מקנה תשבר׃ |
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].
| כי פחד אלי איד אל ומשאתו לא אוכל׃ |
24 “If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
| אם שמתי זהב כסלי ולכתם אמרתי מבטחי׃ |
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
| אם אשמח כי רב חילי וכי כביר מצאה ידי׃ |
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
| אם אראה אור כי יהל וירח יקר הלך׃ |
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
| ויפת בסתר לבי ותשק ידי לפי׃ |
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].
| גם הוא עון פלילי כי כחשתי לאל ממעל׃ |
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].
| אם אשמח בפיד משנאי והתעררתי כי מצאו רע׃ |
| ולא נתתי לחטא חכי לשאל באלה נפשו׃ |
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]!
| אם לא אמרו מתי אהלי מי יתן מבשרו לא נשבע׃ |
| בחוץ לא ילין גר דלתי לארח אפתח׃ |
33 Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
| אם כסיתי כאדם פשעי לטמון בחבי עוני׃ |
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.
| כי אערוץ המון רבה ובוז משפחות יחתני ואדם לא אצא פתח׃ |
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.
| מי יתן לי שמע לי הן תוי שדי יענני וספר כתב איש ריבי׃ |
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].
| אם לא על שכמי אשאנו אענדנו עטרות לי׃ |
37 I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
| מספר צעדי אגידנו כמו נגיד אקרבנו׃ |
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;
| אם עלי אדמתי תזעק ויחד תלמיה יבכיון׃ |
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];
| אם כחה אכלתי בלי כסף ונפש בעליה הפחתי׃ |
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].
| תחת חטה יצא חוח ותחת שערה באשה תמו דברי איוב׃ |
