איוב 31

1 ברית כרתי לעיני ומה אתבונן על-בתולה

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

2 ומה חלק אלוה ממעל ונחלת שדי ממרמים

[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 הלא-איד לעול ונכר לפעלי און

[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 הלא-הוא יראה דרכי וכל-צעדי יספור

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 אם-הלכתי עם-שוא ותחש על-מרמה רגלי

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

6 ישקלני במאזני-צדק וידע אלוה תמתי

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 אם תטה אשרי מני הדרך ואחר עיני הלך לבי ובכפי דבק מאום

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 אזרעה ואחר יאכל וצאצאי ישרשו

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 אם-נפתה לבי על-אשה ועל-פתח רעי ארבתי

“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 תטחן לאחר אשתי ועליה יכרעון אחרין

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

11 כי-הוא (היא) זמה והיא (והוא) עון פלילים

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

12 כי אש היא עד-אבדון תאכל ובכל-תבואתי תשרש

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 אם-אמאס--משפט עבדי ואמתי ברבם עמדי

“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 ומה אעשה כי-יקום אל וכי-יפקד מה אשיבנו

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 הלא-בבטן עשני עשהו ויכננו ברחם אחד

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 אם-אמנע מחפץ דלים ועיני אלמנה אכלה

“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 ואכל פתי לבדי ולא-אכל יתום ממנה

18 כי מנעורי גדלני כאב ומבטן אמי אנחנה

19 אם-אראה אובד מבלי לבוש ואין כסות לאביון

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 אם-לא ברכוני חלצו ומגז כבשי יתחמם

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 אם-הניפותי על-יתום ידי כי-אראה בשער עזרתי

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 כתפי משכמה תפול ואזרעי מקנה תשבר

[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 כי פחד אלי איד אל ומשאתו לא אוכל

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 אם-שמתי זהב כסלי ולכתם אמרתי מבטחי

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

25 אם-אשמח כי-רב חילי וכי-כביר מצאה ידי

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

26 אם-אראה אור כי יהל וירח יקר הלך

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

27 ויפת בסתר לבי ותשק ידי לפי

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

28 גם-הוא עון פלילי כי-כחשתי לאל ממעל

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 אם-אשמח בפיד משנאי והתעררתי כי-מצאו רע

“[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 ולא-נתתי לחטא חכי-- לשאל באלה נפשו

31 אם-לא אמרו מתי אהלי מי-יתן מבשרו לא נשבע

[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 בחוץ לא-ילין גר דלתי לארח אפתח

33 אם-כסיתי כאדם פשעי-- לטמון בחבי עוני

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

34 כי אערוץ המון רבה-- ובוז-משפחות יחתני ואדם לא-אצא פתח

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 מי יתן-לי שמע לי-- הן-תוי שדי יענני וספר כתב איש ריבי

“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 אם-לא על-שכמי אשאנו אענדנו עטרות לי

[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 מספר צעדי אגידנו כמו-נגיד אקרבנו

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

38 אם-עלי אדמתי תזעק ויחד תלמיה יבכיון

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 אם-כחה אכלתי בלי-כסף ונפש בעליה הפחתי

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 תחת חטה יצא חוח--ותחת-שערה באשה תמו דברי איוב

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].