Job 31

1 [Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis, ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.

I reached an agreement with my eyes, that I would not so much as think about a virgin.

2 Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hæreditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?

For what portion should God from above hold for me, and what inheritance should the Almighty from on high keep?

3 Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus injustitiam?

Is not destruction held for the wicked and repudiation kept for those who work injustice?

4 Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?

Does he not examine my ways and number all my steps?

5 Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus,

If I have walked in vanity, or if my foot has hurried towards deceitfulness,

6 appendat me in statera justa, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.

let him weigh me in a just balance, and let God know my simplicity.

7 Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula,

If my steps have turned aside from the way, or if my heart has followed my eyes, or if a blemish has clung to my hands,

8 seram, et alius comedat, et progenies mea eradicetur.

then may I sow, and let another consume, and let my offspring be eradicated.

9 Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum,

If my heart has been deceived over a woman, or if I have waited in ambush at my friend’s door,

10 scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.

then let my wife be the harlot of another, and let other men lean over her.

11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.

For this is a crime and a very great injustice.

12 Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.

It is a fire devouring all the way to perdition, and it roots out all that springs forth.

13 Si contempsi subire judicium cum servo meo et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me:

If I have despised being subject to judgment with my servant or my maid, when they had any complaint against me,

14 quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad judicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?

then what will I do when God rises to judge, and, when he inquires, how will I respond to him?

15 Numquid non in utero fecit me, qui et illum operatus est, et formavit me in vulva unus?

Is not he who created me in the womb, also he who labored to make him? And did not one and the same form me in the womb?

16 Si negavi quod volebant pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci;

If I have denied the poor what they wanted and have made the eyes of the widow wait;

17 si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea

if I have eaten my morsel of food alone, while orphans have not eaten from it;

18 (quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum);

(for from my infancy mercy grew with me, and it came out with me from my mother’s womb; )

19 si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem;

if I have looked down on him who was perishing because he had no clothing and the poor without any covering,

20 si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est;

if his sides have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21 si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:

if I have lifted up my hand over an orphan, even when it might seem to me that I have the advantage over him at the gate;

22 humerus meus a junctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.

then may my shoulder fall from its joint, and may my arm, with all its bones, be broken.

23 Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus ejus ferre non potui.

For I have always feared God, like waves flowing over me, whose weight I was unable to bear.

24 Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea;

If I have considered gold to be my strength, or if I have called purified gold ‘my Trust;’

25 si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea;

if I have rejoiced over my great success, and over the many things my hand has obtained;

26 si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare,

if I gazed upon the sun when it shined and the moon advancing brightly,

27 et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo:

so that my heart rejoiced in secret and I kissed my hand with my mouth,

28 quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.

which is a very great iniquity and a denial against the most high God;

29 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam ejus qui me oderat, et exsultavi quod invenisset eum malum:

if I have been glad at the ruin of him who hated me and have exulted that evil found him,

30 non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam ejus.

for I have not been given my throat to sin by asking for a curse on his soul;

31 Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur?

if the men around my tabernacle have not said: “He might give us some of his food, so that we will be filled,”

32 foris non mansit peregrinus: ostium meum viatori patuit.

for the foreigner did not remain at the door, my door was open to the traveler;

33 Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam;

if, as man does, I have hidden my sin and have concealed my iniquity in my bosom;

34 si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.

if I became frightened by an excessive crowd, and the disrespect of close relatives alarmed me, so that I would much rather have remained silent or have gone out the door;

35 Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens, et librum scribat ipse qui judicat,

then, would he grant me a hearing, so that the Almighty would listen to my desire, and he who judges would himself write a book,

36 ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?

which I would then carry on my shoulder and wrap around me like a crown?

37 Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.

With each of my steps, I would pronounce and offer it, as if to a prince.

38 Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci ejus deflent:

So, if my land cries out against me, and if its furrows weep with it,

39 si fructus ejus comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum ejus afflixi:

if I have used its fruits for nothing but money and have afflicted the souls of its tillers,

40 pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.] Finita sunt verba Job.

then, may thistles spring forth for me instead of grain, and thorns instead of barley. (This ended the words of Job.)