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 זמה והיא 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].