31 “I made a covenant with my eyes;
why then should I look upon a young woman?
2 For what portion of God is there from above?
And what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Does not destruction belong to the wicked,
and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
4 Does He not see my ways,
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked in vanity,
or if my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 let me be weighed in an even balance
that God may know my integrity.
7 If my step has turned out of the path,
and my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands,
8 then let me sow, but let another eat;
yes, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been deceived by a woman,
or if I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let others bow down over her.
11 For this is a heinous crime;
yes, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that consumes to destruction
and would root out all my increase.
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
when they complained against me,
14 what then will I do when God rises up?
And when He visits, what will I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make him?
And did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel by myself,
so that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (but from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father,
and I have guided the widow from my mother’s womb);
19 if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or any poor without covering;
20 if his body has not blessed me,
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
when I saw I had help in the gate;
22 then let my arm fall from my shoulder blade,
and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 For destruction from God is a terror to me,
and because of His highness I cannot endure.
24 “If I have made gold my hope,
or have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
25 if I rejoiced because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had gained much;
26 if I saw the sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in brightness;
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
or my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judge,
for I would have denied the God who is above.
29 “If I rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when disaster found him
30 (nor have I allowed my mouth to sin
by wishing for a curse on his soul);
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there who has not been satisfied with his meat?’
32 (the stranger has not lodged in the street,
but I opened my doors to the traveler);
33 if I covered my transgressions as any man,
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 did I fear a great multitude,
or did the contempt of families terrify me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of the door?
35 “Oh, that one would hear me!
Behold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me,
and that the One who contends against me had written a book!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder
and bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
like a prince I would approach Him.
38 “If my land cries out against me,
and its furrows also weep together;
39 if I have eaten its fruit without money,
or have caused its owners to lose their life;
40 let thistles grow instead of wheat,
and weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.