Job 31
1 Pepigi foedus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
“I made a covenant for my eyes, And how do I attend to a virgin?
2 Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?
3 Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam?
Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?
4 Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
Does He not see my ways, And number all my steps?
5 Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus:
If I have walked with vanity, And my foot hurries to deceit,
6 Appendat me in statera iusta, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
He weighs me in righteous balances, And God knows 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 step turns aside from the way, And my heart has gone after my eyes, And blemish has cleaved to my hands,
8 Seram, et alius comedat: et progenies mea eradicetur.
Let me sow—and another eat, And let my products be rooted out.
9 Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum:
If my heart has been enticed by a woman, And I laid wait by the opening of my neighbor,
10 Scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
Let my wife grind to another, And let others bend over her.
11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;
12 Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
For it [is] a fire, it consumes to destruction, And takes root among all my increase,
13 Si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo, et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me.
If I despise the cause of my manservant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,
14 Quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus? et cum quaesierit, quid respondebo illi?
Then what do I do when God arises? And when He inspects, What do I answer Him?
15 Numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est: et formavit me in vulva unus?
Did He that made me in the womb not make him? Indeed, One prepares us in the womb.
16 Si negavi, quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduae expectare feci:
If I withhold the poor from pleasure, And consume the eyes of the widow,
17 Si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea:
And I eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan has nothing [to] eat of it,
18 (Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio: et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum.)
(But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led),
19 Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem:
If I see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering for the needy,
20 Si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est:
If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He does not warm himself,
21 Si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
If I have waved my hand at the fatherless, When I see [him] in the gate of my court,
22 Humerus meus a iunctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
Let my shoulder fall from its blade, And the bone from my arm be broken.
23 Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus eius ferre non potui.
For calamity [from] God [is] a dread to me, And because of His excellence I am not able.
24 Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea.
If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, My trust;
25 Si laetatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea.
If I rejoice because my wealth [is] great, And because my hand has found abundance,
26 Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare:
If I see the light when it shines, And the precious moon walking,
27 Et laetatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo.
And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand kisses my mouth,
28 Quae est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.
29 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius, qui me oderat, et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum.
If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,
30 Non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam eius.
Indeed, I have not permitted my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.
31 Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur?
If not, say, O men of my tent: O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.
32 Foris non mansit peregrinus, ostium meum viatori patuit.
A stranger does not lodge in the street, I open my doors to the traveler.
33 Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam.
If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, To hide my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families frightens me, Then I am silent, I do not go out of the opening.
35 Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens: et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat.
Who gives to me a hearing? Behold, my mark. The Mighty One answers me, And my adversary has written a bill.
36 Ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
If not—on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it [as] a crown on myself.
37 Per singulos gradus meos pronunciabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.
38 Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent:
If my land cries out against me, And together its furrows weep,
39 Si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum eius afflixi:
If I consumed its strength without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,
40 Pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.
Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed!” The words of Job are finished.
