31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
How then could I look at a virgin?
31:2 And what is the portion of God from above,
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
31:3 Is it not disaster to the criminal,
And misfortune to those who practice injustice?
31:4 Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?
31:5 “If I have walked with deception,
And my foot has hurried after deceit,
31:6 Let Him weigh me with ①accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.
▷ ①Lit just
31:7 If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart ①followed my eyes,
Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
▷ ①Lit walked after
31:8 Let me sow and another eat,
And let my ①crops be uprooted.
▷ ①Or offspring
31:9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
31:10 May my wife grind grain for another,
And let others ①kneel down over her.
▷ ①I.e., have sexual relations with her
31:11 For that would be a lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be wrongdoing punishable by judges.
31:12 For it would be fire that consumes to ①Abaddon,
And would uproot all my ②increase.
▷ ①I.e., the place of destruction ②Or yield
31:13 “If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
31:14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?
31:15 Did He who made me in the womb not make him,
And the same one create us in the womb?
31:16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
31:17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not ①shared it
▷ ①Lit eaten from it
31:18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from ①my infancy I guided her),
▷ ①Lit my mother’s womb
31:19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering,
31:20 If his waist has not ①thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
▷ ①Lit blessed; i.e., for clothing
31:21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw ①I had support in the gate,
▷ ①Lit my help
31:22 May my shoulder fall from its ①socket,
And my arm be broken off ②at the elbow.
▷ ①Lit neck-joint ②Lit from the bone of the upper arm
31:23 For disaster from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
31:25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had obtained so much;
31:26 If I have looked at the ①sun when it shone,
Or the moon going in splendor,
▷ ①Lit light
31:27 And my heart was secretly enticed,
And my hand ①threw a kiss from my mouth,
▷ ①Lit kissed my mouth
31:28 That too would have been a guilty deed calling for ①judgment,
For I would have denied God above.
▷ ①Lit judges
31:29 “Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,
Or become excited when evil found him?
31:30 ①No, I have not ②allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.
▷ ①Lit And ②Lit given my palate
31:31 Have the people of my tent not said,
‘Who can ①find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
▷ ①Lit give
31:32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,
For I have opened my doors to the ①traveler.
▷ ①MT way
31:33 Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man,
By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,
31:34 Because I feared the great multitude
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
31:35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Here is my ①signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,
▷ ①Lit mark
31:36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,
I would tie it to myself like a garland.
31:37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince, I would approach Him.
31:38 “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
31:39 If I have eaten its ①fruit without money,
Or have caused ②its owners to lose their lives,
▷ ①Lit strength ②Lit the soul of its owners to expire
31:40 May the thorn-bush ①grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
▷ ①Lit come forth