1 Fiz aliança com meus olhos;

como, pois, os fixaria eu numa donzela?

2 Que porção, pois, teria eu do Deus lá de cima

e que herança, do Todo-Poderoso desde as alturas?

3 Acaso, não é a perdição para o iníquo,

e o infortúnio, para os que praticam a maldade?

4 Ou não vê Deus os meus caminhos

e não conta todos os meus passos?

5 Se andei com falsidade,

e se o meu pé se apressou para o engano

6 (pese-me Deus em balanças fiéis

e conhecerá a minha integridade);

7 se os meus passos se desviaram do caminho,

e se o meu coração segue os meus olhos,

e se às minhas mãos se apegou qualquer mancha,

8 então, semeie eu, e outro coma,

e sejam arrancados os renovos do meu campo.

9 Se o meu coração se deixou seduzir por causa de mulher,

se andei à espreita à porta do meu próximo,

10 então, moa minha mulher para outro,

e outros se encurvem sobre ela.

11 Pois seria isso um crime hediondo,

delito à punição de juízes;

12 pois seria fogo que consome até à destruição

e desarraigaria toda a minha renda.

13 Se desprezei o direito do meu servo ou da minha serva,

quando eles contendiam comigo,

14 então, que faria eu quando Deus se levantasse?

E, inquirindo ele a causa, que lhe responderia eu?

15 Aquele que me formou no ventre materno

não os fez também a eles?

Ou não é o mesmo que nos formou na madre?

16 Se retive o que os pobres desejavam

ou fiz desfalecer os olhos da viúva;

17 ou, se sozinho comi o meu bocado,

e o órfão dele não participou

18 (Porque desde a minha mocidade cresceu comigo como se eu lhe fora o pai,

e desde o ventre da minha mãe fui o guia da viúva.);

19 se a alguém vi perecer por falta de roupa

e ao necessitado, por não ter coberta;

20 se os seus lombos não me abençoaram,

se ele não se aquentava com a lã dos meus cordeiros;

21 se eu levantei a mão contra o órfão,

por me ver apoiado pelos juízes da porta,

22 então, caia a omoplata do meu ombro,

e seja arrancado o meu braço da articulação.

23 Porque o castigo de Deus seria para mim um assombro,

e eu não poderia enfrentar a sua majestade.

24 Se no ouro pus a minha esperança

ou disse ao ouro fino: em ti confio;

25 se me alegrei por serem grandes os meus bens

e por ter a minha mão alcançado muito;

26 se olhei para o sol, quando resplandecia,

ou para a lua, que caminhava esplendente,

27 e o meu coração se deixou enganar em oculto,

e beijos lhes atirei com a mão,

28 também isto seria delito à punição de juízes;

pois assim negaria eu ao Deus lá de cima.

29 Se me alegrei da desgraça do que me tem ódio

e se exultei quando o mal o atingiu

30 (Também não deixei pecar a minha boca,

pedindo com imprecações a sua morte.);

31 se a gente da minha tenda não disse:

Ah! Quem haverá aí que não se saciou de carne provida por ele

32 (O estrangeiro não pernoitava na rua;

as minhas portas abria ao viandante.)!

33 Se, como Adão, encobri as minhas transgressões,

ocultando o meu delito no meu seio;

34 porque eu temia a grande multidão,

e o desprezo das famílias me apavorava,

de sorte que me calei e não saí da porta.

35 Tomara eu tivesse quem me ouvisse!

Eis aqui a minha defesa assinada!

Que o Todo-Poderoso me responda!

Que o meu adversário escreva a sua acusação!

36 Por certo que a levaria sobre o meu ombro,

atá-la-ia sobre mim como coroa;

37 mostrar-lhe-ia o número dos meus passos;

como príncipe me chegaria a ele.

38 Se a minha terra clamar contra mim,

e se os seus sulcos juntamente chorarem;

39 se comi os seus frutos sem tê-la pago devidamente

e causei a morte aos seus donos,

40 por trigo me produza cardos,

e por cevada, joio.

Fim das palavras de Jó.

1 I made a covenant with mine eyes;

How then should I look upon a virgin?

2 For what is the portion from God above,

And the heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,

And disaster to the workers of iniquity?

4 Doth not he see my ways,

And number all my steps?

5 If I have walked with falsehood,

And my foot hath hasted to deceit

6 (Let me be weighed in an even balance,

That God may know mine integrity);

7 If my step hath turned out of the way,

And my heart walked after mine eyes,

And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:

8 Then let me sow, and let another eat;

Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

9 If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman,

And I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door;

10 Then let my wife grind unto another,

And let others bow down upon her.

11 For that were a heinous crime;

Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:

12 For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction,

And would root out all mine increase.

13 If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,

When they contended with me;

14 What then shall I do when God riseth up?

And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him?

And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,

And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof

18 (Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

And her have I guided from my mother’s womb);

19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,

Or that the needy had no covering;

20 If his loins have not blessed me,

And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,

Because I saw my help in the gate:

22 Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,

And mine arm be broken from the bone.

23 For calamity from God is a terror to me,

And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.

24 If I have made gold my hope,

And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had gotten much;

26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined,

Or the moon walking in brightness,

27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed,

And my mouth hath kissed my hand:

28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;

For I should have denied the God that is above.

29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,

Or lifted up myself when evil found him

30 (Yea, I have not suffered by mouth to sin

By asking his life with a curse);

31 If the men of my tent have not said,

Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?

32 (The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;

But I have opened my doors to the traveller);

33 If like Adam I have covered my transgressions,

By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,

34 Because I feared the great multitude,

And the contempt of families terrified me,

So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door—

35 Oh that I had one to hear me!

(Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me)

And that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath written!

36 Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;

I would bind it unto me as a crown:

37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps;

As a prince would I go near unto him.

38 If my land crieth out against me,

And the furrows thereof weep together;

39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money,

Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat,

And cockle instead of barley.

The words of Job are ended.

1 "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

2 For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?

4 Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

5 "If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit —

6 let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless —

7 if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled,

8 then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,

10 then may my wife grind another man's grain, and may other men sleep with her.

11 For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.

12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction "; it would have uprooted my harvest.

13 "If I have denied justice to any of my servants, whether male or female, when they had a grievance against me,

14 what will I do when God confronts me? What will I answer when called to account?

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16 "If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17 if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless —

18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow —

19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,

20 and their hearts did not bless me for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,

22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.

23 For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

24 "If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,'

25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained,

26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

28 then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

29 "If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him —

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse against their life —

31 if those of my household have never said, 'Who has not been filled with Job's meat?' —

32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler —

33 if I have concealed my sin as people do, "by hiding my guilt in my heart

34 because I so feared the crowd and so dreaded the contempt of the clans that I kept silent and would not go outside —

35 ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense —let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder, I would put it on like a crown.

37 I would give him an account of my every step; I would present it to him as to a ruler.) —

38 "if my land cries out against me and all its furrows are wet with tears,

39 if I have devoured its yield without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40 then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.