Job 31
1 “I made a covenant with my eyes; how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
[Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis, ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
2 For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hæreditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus injustitiam?
4 Doesn’t he see my ways, and count all my steps?
Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit
Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus,
6 (let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
appendat me in statera justa, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
7 if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula,
8 then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
seram, et alius comedat, et progenies mea eradicetur.
9 “If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door,
Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum,
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
11 For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
12 for it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.
Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me,
Si contempsi subire judicium cum servo meo et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me:
14 what then will I do when God rises up? When he visits, what will I answer him?
quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad judicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?
15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him? Didn’t one fashion us in the womb?
Numquid non in utero fecit me, qui et illum operatus est, et formavit me in vulva unus?
16 “If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Si negavi quod volebant pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci;
17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea
18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, I have guided her from my mother’s womb);
(quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum);
19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;
si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem;
20 if his heart hasn’t blessed me, if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est;
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate;
si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
humerus meus a junctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
23 For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because of his majesty, I can do nothing.
Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus ejus ferre non potui.
24 “If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea;
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea;
26 if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendour,
si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth;
et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo:
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have denied the God who is above.
quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
Si gavisus sum ad ruinam ejus qui me oderat, et exsultavi quod invenisset eum malum:
30 (I have certainly not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse);
non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam ejus.
31 if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur?
32 (the foreigner has not camped in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveller);
foris non mansit peregrinus: ostium meum viatori patuit.
33 if like Adam I have covered my transgressions, by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam;
34 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—
si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
35 oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!
Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens, et librum scribat ipse qui judicat,
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, and I would bind it to me as a crown.
ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
37 I would declare to him the number of my steps. I would go near to him like a prince.
Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
38 If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci ejus deflent:
39 if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life,
si fructus ejus comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum ejus afflixi:
40 let briers grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.] Finita sunt verba Job.
