¹“I have cut a covenant with my eyes;

How then could I gaze at a virgin?

²“And what is the portion of God from above

Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

³“Is it not disaster to the unjust

And misfortune to those who work iniquity?

⁴“Does He not see my ways

And number all my steps?

⁵¶“If I have walked with worthlessness,

And my foot has hastened after deceit,

⁶Let Him weigh me with just scales,[#31:6 Lit righteous ; Job 8:3, 6; 29:14]

And let God know my integrity.

⁷“If my step has turned from the way,

Or my heart followed my eyes,

Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

⁸Let me sow and another eat,

And let my crops be uprooted.

⁹¶“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,

¹⁰May my wife grind for another,

And let others kneel down over her.

¹¹“For that would be lewdness;

Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.

¹²“For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon,[#31:12 Lit the realm of destruction]

And would uproot all my produce.

¹³¶“If I have rejected the justice of my male or female slaves[#31:13 Or servants , cf. Job 1:3]

When 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 He who made me in the womb make him,

And the same one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶¶“If I have held back the poor from their desire,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the orphan has not eaten from it

¹⁸(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 for lack of clothing,

Or that the 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 the orphan

Because I saw my help in the gate,

²²Let my shoulder fall from the socket,[#31:22 Or back ; lit shoulder]

And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

²³“For disaster from God is a dread to me,

And because of His exaltedness I can do nothing.

²⁴¶“If I have put my confidence in gold,

And called fine gold my trust,

²⁵If I have been glad because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had found so much,

²⁶If I have looked at the sun when it shone[#31:26 Lit light]

Or the moon going in splendor,

²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed,

And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

²⁸That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment,[#31:28 Lit judges]

For I would have denied God above.

²⁹¶“If I have been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,

Or exulted when evil found him—

³⁰“But I have not given over my mouth to sin[#31:30 Lit palate]

By asking for his life in a curse—

³¹“If the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’—

³²“The sojourner has not lodged outside,

For I have opened my doors to the traveler—

³³“If I have covered my transgressions like Adam,[#31:33 Or mankind]

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

³⁴Because I feared 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 signature;

Let the Almighty answer me!

And the indictment which my accuser 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 the number of my steps;

Like a prince I would approach Him—

³⁸¶“If my land cries out against me,

And its furrows weep together,

³⁹If I have eaten its fruit without money,[#31:39 Lit strength]

Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰Let briars come out instead of wheat,

And stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.