Job 31 — Legacy Standard Bible

31“I have cut a covenant with my ^aeyes;How then could I gaze at a virgin?²“And what is ^athe portion of God from aboveOr the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?³“Is it not ^adisaster to the unjustAnd misfortune to ^bthose who work iniquity?⁴“Does He not ^asee my waysAnd ^bnumber all my steps?⁵“If I have ^awalked with worthlessness,And my foot has hastened after deceit,⁶Let Him ^aweigh me with ¹just scales,And let God know ^bmy integrity.⁷“If my step has ^aturned from the way,Or my heart ¹followed my eyes,Or if any ^bspot has stuck to my hands,⁸Let me ^asow and another eat,And let my ¹^,^bcrops be uprooted.⁹“If my heart has been ^aenticed by a woman,Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,¹⁰May my wife ^agrind for another,And let ^bothers ¹kneel down over her.¹¹“For that would be ^alewdness;Moreover, it would be ^ban iniquity punishable by judges.¹²“For it would be ^afire that consumes to ¹^,^bAbaddon,And would ^cuproot all my ²produce.¹³“If I have ^arejected the justice of my male or female ¹slavesWhen they filed a complaint against me,¹⁴What then could I do when God arises?And when He calls me to account, with what will I respond to Him?¹⁵“Did not ^aHe who made me in the womb make him,And the same one fashion us in the womb?¹⁶“If I have held back ^athe poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of ^bthe widow to fail,¹⁷Or have ^aeaten my morsel alone,And ^bthe orphan has not eaten from it¹⁸(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And from the womb of my mother I guided her),¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish ^afor lack of clothing,Or that ^bthe needy had no covering,²⁰If his loins have not blessed me,And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,²¹If I have waved my hand against ^athe orphanBecause I saw my help ^bin the gate,²²Let my shoulder fall from the ¹socket,And my ^aarm be broken off ²at the elbow.²³“For ^adisaster from God is a dread to me,And because of ^bHis exaltedness I can do nothing.²⁴“If I have put my confidence in ^agold,And called fine gold my trust,²⁵If I have ^abeen glad because my wealth was great,And because my hand had found so much,²⁶If I have ^alooked at the ¹sun when it shoneOr the moon going in splendor,²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed,And my hand ¹threw a kiss from my mouth,²⁸That too would have been ^aan iniquity calling for ¹judgment,For I would have ^bdenied God above.²⁹“If I ^ahave been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,Or ¹exulted when evil found him—³⁰“But ^aI have not given over my ¹mouth to sinBy asking for his life in ^ba curse—³¹“If the men of my tent have not said,‘Who can ¹find one who has not been ^asatisfied with his meat’—³²“The sojourner has not lodged outside,For I have opened my doors to the ¹traveler—³³“If I have ^acovered my transgressions like ¹Adam,By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,³⁴Because I ^afeared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,And I kept silent and did not go out of doors—³⁵“Oh that I had one to hear me!Behold, here is my ¹signature;^aLet the Almighty answer me!And the indictment which my ^baccuser has written,³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;I would bind it to myself like a crown.³⁷“I would declare to Him ^athe number of my steps;Like ^ba prince I would approach Him—³⁸“If my ^aland cries out against me,And its furrows weep together,³⁹If I have ^aeaten its ¹fruit without money,Or have ^bcaused ²its owners to lose their lives,⁴⁰Let ^abriars come out instead of wheat,And stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.