Job 31

1 Pepigi foedus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.

“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

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

For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

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

Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

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

Does He not see my ways and count my every step?

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

If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,

6 Appendat me in statera iusta, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.

let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.

7 Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutus est oculus meus cor meum, et si manibus meis adhaesit macula:

If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

8 Seram, et alius comedat: et progenies mea eradicetur.

then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

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

If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,

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

then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.

11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.

For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged.

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

For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest.

13 Si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo, et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me.

If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,

14 Quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus? et cum quaesierit, quid respondebo illi?

what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account?

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

Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?

16 Si negavi, quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduae expectare feci:

If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

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

if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—

18 (Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio: et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum.)

though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

19 Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem:

if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,

20 Si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est:

if his heart has not blessed me for warming him 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 against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

22 Humerus meus a iunctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.

then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket.

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

For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.

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

If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,

25 Si laetatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea.

if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

26 Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare:

if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

27 Et laetatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo.

so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

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

this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.

29 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius, qui me oderat, et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum.

If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—

30 Non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam eius.

I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—

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

if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

32 Foris non mansit peregrinus, ostium meum viatori patuit.

but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—

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

if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,

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

because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—

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

(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.

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

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

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

I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—

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

if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,

39 Si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum eius afflixi:

if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40 Pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.

then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.