Job 31

1 pepigi foedus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine

I MADE a covenant with mine eyes; how then should I look upon a maid?

2 quam enim partem haberet Deus in me desuper et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis

For what [is] the portion of God from above, and the heritage of the Almighty from on high?

3 numquid non perditio est iniquo et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam

Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?

4 nonne ipse considerat vias meas et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat

Doth not he 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 hath hasted to deceit;

6 adpendat me in statera iusta et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam

(Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity; )

7 si declinavit gressus meus de via et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum et in manibus meis adhesit macula

If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any spot hath cleaved to mine hands:

8 seram et alius comedat et progenies mea eradicetur

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

9 si deceptum est cor meum super mulierem et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum

If mine heart have been enticed unto a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door:

10 scortum sit alteri uxor mea et super illam incurventur alii

Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

11 hoc enim nefas est et iniquitas maxima

For that were an heinous crime; yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:

12 ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans et omnia eradicans genimina

For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

13 si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo et ancillae meae cum disceptarent adversum me

If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me:

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

What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

15 numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est et formavit in vulva unus

Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 si negavi quod volebant pauperibus et oculos viduae expectare feci

If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

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

Or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

18 quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum

(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, and I have been her guide from my mother’s womb; )

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

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;

20 si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est

If his loins 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 against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate:

22 umerus meus a iunctura sua cadat et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur

Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

23 semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum et pondus eius ferre non potui

For calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his excellency I could do nothing.

24 si putavi aurum robur meum et obrizae dixi fiducia mea

If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;

25 si laetatus sum super multis divitiis meis et quia plurima repperit manus mea

If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

26 si vidi solem cum fulgeret et lunam incedentem clare

If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

27 et lactatum est in abscondito cor meum et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo

And my heart hath been secretly enticed, and my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28 quae est iniquitas maxima et negatio contra Deum altissimum

This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges: for I should have lied to God that is above.

29 si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius qui me oderat et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum

If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him;

30 non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum ut expeterem maledicens animam eius

(Yea, I suffered not my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse; )

31 si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur

If the men of my tent said not, Who can find one that hath not been satisfied with his flesh?

32 foris non mansit peregrinus ostium meum viatori patuit

The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my doors to the traveller;

33 si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam

If like Adam I covered my transgressions, by hiding mine 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 feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—

35 quis mihi tribuat auditorem ut desiderium meum Omnipotens audiat et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat

Oh that I had one to hear me! (lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me; ) and [that I had] the indictment which mine adversary hath written!

36 ut in umero meo portem illum et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi

Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown.

37 per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum et quasi principi offeram eum

I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

38 si adversum me terra mea clamat et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent

If my land cry out against me, and the furrows thereof weep together;

39 si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia et animam agricolarum eius adflixi

If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

40 pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus et pro hordeo spina finita sunt verba Iob

Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.