Job 31
1 Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
“I solemnly promised myself that I would not look at a young woman with a desire [to have sex with her].
2 Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
[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 Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam?
[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 Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
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 Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus:
[“I solemnly declare that] I have never acted wickedly and have never tried to deceive people.
6 Appendat me in statera iusta, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
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 Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula:
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 Seram, et alium comedat: et progenies mea eradicetur.
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 Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum:
“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 Scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man and have sex [EUP] with him.
11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
[For me to do] that would be a terrible sin, and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
12 Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
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 Si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo, et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum 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 Quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?
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 Numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est: et formavit me in vulva unus?
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 Si negavi, quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci:
“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 Si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea:
18 (Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio: et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum.)
19 Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem:
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 Si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est:
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 Si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
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 Humerus meus a iunctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
[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 Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus eius ferre non potui.
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 Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea.
“If [it were true that] I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 Si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea.
or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things and had become very rich,
26 Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare:
or that I looked at the sun when it was shining or looked at the beautiful moon
27 Et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo.
and I [SYN] had been tempted [to worship them] by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 Quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
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 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius, qui me oderat, et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum.
“[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 Non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam eius.
31 Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur?
[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 Foris non mansit peregrinus, ostium meum viatori patuit.
33 Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam.
Some people try to hide their sins, but I have never done that;
34 Si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
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 Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens: et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat.
“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 Ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
[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 Per singulos gradus meos pronunciabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
I would tell [God] everything that I have done, and I would approach him [confidently], like a ruler would.
38 Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent:
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 Si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum eius afflixi:
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 Pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina. Finita sunt verba Iob.
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].
