Job 31

I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

I pledged to my eyes not to lust; why then should my thoughts wander towards a young woman?

For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

What share do we have in God's heavenly blessings? What legacy do we receive from the Almighty above?

Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?

Doesn't disaster await the wicked? And isn't there a peculiar punishment for those who do evil?

Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

Doesn't he notice my actions and keep track of every step I take?

If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;

If I've walked in falsehood, or if I've rushed into dishonesty;

Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.

May God, in His fairness, measure my honesty and sincerity.

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

If I've strayed from the right path, let my heart and eyes lead me astray, or if I've done anything wrong that sticks to my hands.

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

Allow me to plant seeds, but let others enjoy the harvest; indeed, may my lineage cease to exist.

If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

If a woman has misled my heart, or if I've lurked at my neighbor's door;

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

Then may my wife grind grain for another man, and may other men sleep with her.

For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

This is a terrible sin, a wrong so grave that it demands justice.

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

This force is like a raging fire, destroying everything and threatening to wipe out all that I've gained.

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

If I ever disregarded the concerns of my male or female servants when they argued with me;

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

What could I do when God rises up to judge? When He calls me to account, what answer could I give Him?

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

Didn't the same Creator who shaped me in my mother's womb also form him? Weren't we both crafted in the womb by the same divine hand?

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

If I've denied the needy their wishes, or let the gaze of the widow dim with despair;

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

I've never selfishly enjoyed a meal while a child without a father went hungry.

(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

Since my earliest days, I've raised the orphan as a father would, and I've guided the widow since the moment I was born.

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

If I've ever witnessed someone suffering from lack of clothes, or seen a poor soul without shelter;

If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

If he hasn't expressed gratitude for my help, and if he hasn't felt comfort from the wool of my sheep.

If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

If I ever raised my hand against an orphan, knowing I had friends among the judges at the gate:

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

May my arm detach from my shoulder, and my bone shatter into pieces.

For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

The thought of God's wrath terrified me, and His majestic presence was too overwhelming for me to bear.

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

If I've placed my faith in wealth, or told precious gold, 'You are my security';

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

If I find joy in my vast wealth and the abundance my hands have gathered;

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

If I ever gazed in awe at the sun's radiant glow, or admired the moon's graceful dance in the night sky;

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

My heart has been quietly seduced, or my lips have brushed against my hand.

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

This would be a grave sin, deserving punishment: for it would mean rejecting the God above.

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

If I find joy in the downfall of my enemy, or feel pride when misfortune befalls him:

Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.

I've never let my mouth sin by calling down a curse on my enemy's life.

If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

If the people of my household never said, "Who hasn't eaten their fill of his meat?"

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

I never left a stranger out in the cold; my home was always open to those on a journey.

If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:

If I hid my wrongdoings like Adam, keeping my sins hidden deep within me:

Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

Was I so scared of the crowd's judgment or the contempt of the clans that I chose to stay silent and hidden away?

Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

If only someone would listen! I yearn for God to respond to me, and for my accuser to put the charges against me in writing.

Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

Without a doubt, I'd proudly carry it on my shoulder, wearing it like a crown with honor.

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

I would confidently share with him every path I've taken; approaching him with the dignity of a prince.

If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;

If my land weeps for my actions, or even the grooves in its soil protest against me;

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

If I've enjoyed its bounty without paying, or caused harm to those who owned it:

May prickly weeds replace the golden wheat, and unwanted pests take the place of bountiful barley. The words of Job are ended.

May harsh thorns replace the precious wheat, and foul weeds grow instead of the plentiful barley. Thus, Job's words conclude.