Job 31

1 I made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].

2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

[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!

3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?

[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.

4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

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.

5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;

[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.

6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity.

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).

7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and my heart walked after my eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to my hands;

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,

8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

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.

9 If my heart hath been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

“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],

10 Then let my wife grind to another, and let others bow down upon her.

I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.

11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.

12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all my increase.

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)

13 If I despised the cause of my male or female servant, when they contended with me;

“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,

14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

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]

15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

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].

16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

“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]),

17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten of it;

18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb; )

19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

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],

20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

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, ]

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

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);

22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.

[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.

23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

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].

24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],

25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gained much;

or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,

26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

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].

29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or have lifted up myself when evil found him:

“[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].

30 Neither have I allowed my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.

31 If the men of my tent have not said, O that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

[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]!

32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.

33 If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom:

Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;

34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

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.

35 O that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that my adversary had written a book.

“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.

36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

[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].

37 I would declare to him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near to him.

I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.

38 If my land crieth against me, or its furrows likewise complain;

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;

39 If I have eaten the fruits of it without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life:

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];

40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.

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].