Job's Final Appeal
31 “I have made a covenant with my (A)eyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be (B)my portion from God above
and (C)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 (D)Does not he see my ways
and (E)number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be (F)weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way
and (G)my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any (H)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me (I)sow, and another eat,
and let what grows for me[a] be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed towards a woman,
and I have (J)lain in wait at my neighbour's door,
10 then let my wife (K)grind for another,
and let others (L)bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity (M)to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire (N)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he (O)makes enquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (P)not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have (Q)withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have (R)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[b] grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[c]),
19 if I have seen anyone (S)perish for (T)lack of clothing,
or the needy without (U)covering,
20 if his body has not (V)blessed me,[d]
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (W)the fatherless,
because I saw my help in (X)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (Y)in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his (Z)majesty.
24 (AA)“If I have made gold my (AB)trust
or called (AC)fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have (AD)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because (AE)my hand had found much,
26 (AF)if I have looked at the sun[e] when it shone,
or (AG)the moon moving in splendour,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be (AH)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have (AI)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 ((AJ)I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his (AK)meat?’
32 ((AL)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveller),
33 if I (AM)have concealed my transgressions (AN)as others do[f]
by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 because I stood in great fear of (AO)the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty (AP)answer me!)
Oh, that I had (AQ)the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my (AR)shoulder;
I would (AS)bind it on me as (AT)a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,
39 (AU)if I have eaten its yield without payment
and made its owners (AV)breathe their last,
40 let (AW)thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 31:8 Or let my descendants
- Job 31:18 Hebrew he
- Job 31:18 Hebrew her
- Job 31:20 Hebrew if his loins have not blessed me
- Job 31:26 Hebrew the light
- Job 31:33 Or as Adam did
Cross references
- Job 31:1 : [Isa. 33:15; Matt. 5:28]
- Job 31:2 : See ch. 20:29
- Job 31:2 : See ch. 20:29
- Job 31:4 : ch. 14:16; 34:21; 2 Chr. 16:9; Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 16:17; 32:19; Zech. 4:10
- Job 31:4 : ch. 14:16
- Job 31:6 : Dan. 5:27
- Job 31:7 : Num. 15:39; Eccles. 11:9
- Job 31:7 : [ch. 11:15]
- Job 31:8 : Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:30, 38; [John 4:37]
- Job 31:9 : [ch. 24:15]
- Job 31:10 : [Ex. 11:5; Isa. 47:2]
- Job 31:10 : [2 Sam. 12:11; Jer. 8:10]
- Job 31:11 : ver. 28; [Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22]
- Job 31:12 : See Prov. 6:27-29
- Job 31:14 : Ps. 17:3
- Job 31:15 : ch. 34:19; Prov. 14:31; 22:2; [Eph. 6:9]
- Job 31:16 : [ch. 22:7]
- Job 31:16 : ch. 11:20; 17:5
- Job 31:19 : ch. 29:13
- Job 31:19 : ch. 24:7, 10
- Job 31:19 : ch. 24:7, 10
- Job 31:20 : ch. 29:13; Deut. 24:13
- Job 31:21 : ch. 22:9
- Job 31:21 : See ch. 5:4
- Job 31:23 : ch. 13:11
- Job 31:23 : ch. 13:11
- Job 31:24 : Mark 10:24, 25
- Job 31:24 : ch. 4:6
- Job 31:24 : ch. 28:16
- Job 31:25 : Ps. 62:10
- Job 31:25 : Deut. 8:17
- Job 31:26 : Deut. 4:19; [Deut. 17:3; 2 Kgs. 23:5, 11; Ezek. 8:16]
- Job 31:26 : See Jer. 44:17-19
- Job 31:28 : ver. 11
- Job 31:29 : Prov. 17:5
- Job 31:30 : [Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:14]
- Job 31:31 : Ex. 16:12; 1 Sam. 25:11
- Job 31:32 : [Gen. 19:2, 3; Judg. 19:20, 21; Matt. 25:35; Heb. 13:2]
- Job 31:33 : Prov. 28:13
- Job 31:33 : Gen. 3:8, 12
- Job 31:34 : [Ex. 23:2]
- Job 31:35 : ch. 13:22
- Job 31:35 : [ch. 19:23]
- Job 31:36 : Isa. 9:6; 22:22
- Job 31:36 : Prov. 6:21
- Job 31:36 : Zech. 6:11
- Job 31:39 : [ch. 22:6-9; Luke 10:7; 2 Tim. 2:6; James 5:4]
- Job 31:39 : [1 Kgs. 21:16, 19]
- Job 31:40 : Gen. 3:18