Job 31

Job’s Final Appeal

1 "I have made a covenant with my *[Isa. 33:15;Matt. 5:28]eyes;

how then could I gaze at a virgin?

2 What would be *See ch. 20:29my portion from God above

and *See ch. 20:29my heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,

and disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4 *ch. 14:16;34:21;2 Chr. 16:9;Prov. 5:21;15:3;Jer. 16:17;32:19;Zech. 4:10Does not he see my ways

and *ch. 14:16number all my steps?

5 "If I have walked with falsehood

and my foot has hastened to deceit;

6 (Let me be *Dan. 5:27weighed in a just balance,

and let God know my integrity!)

7 if my step has turned aside from the way

and *Num. 15:39;Eccles. 11:9my heart has gone after my eyes,

and if any *[ch. 11:15]spot has stuck to my hands,

8 then let me *Lev. 26:16;Deut. 28:30,38;[John 4:37]sow, and another eat,

and let what grows for me*31:8 Or let my descendants be rooted out.

9 "If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,

and I have *[ch. 24:15]lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

10 then let my wife *[Ex. 11:5;Isa. 47:2] grind for another,

and let others *[2 Sam. 12:11;Jer. 8:10]bow down on her.

11 For that would be a heinous crime;

that would be an iniquity *ver. 28;[Lev. 20:10;Deut. 22:22]to be punished by the judges;

12 for that would be a fire *See Prov. 6:27-29that 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 *Ps. 17:3makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

15 Did *ch. 34:19;Prov. 14:31;22:2;[Eph. 6:9]not he who made me in the womb make him?

And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 "If I have *[ch. 22:7] withheld anything that the poor desired,

or have *ch. 11:20;17:5caused 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*31:18 Hebrew he grew up with me as with a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow*31:18 Hebrew her),

19 if I have seen anyone *ch. 29:13perish for *ch. 24:7,10lack of clothing,

or the needy without *ch. 24:7,10covering,

20 if his body has not *ch. 29:13;Deut. 24:13blessed me,*31:20 Hebrew if his loins have not blessed me

and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against *ch. 22:9the fatherless,

because I saw my help in *See ch. 5:4the gate,

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,

and let my arm be broken from its socket.

23 For I was *ch. 13:11in terror of calamity from God,

and I could not have faced his *ch. 13:11majesty.

24 *Mark 10:24,25"If I have made gold my *ch. 4:6trust

or called *ch. 28:16fine gold my confidence,

25 if I have *Ps. 62:10rejoiced because my wealth was abundant

or because *Deut. 8:17my hand had found much,

26 *Deut. 4:19;[Deut. 17:3;2 Kgs. 23:5,11;Ezek. 8:16] if I have looked at the sun*31:26 Hebrew the light when it shone,

or *See Jer. 44:17-19the moon moving in splendor,

27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,

and my mouth has kissed my hand,

28 this also would be *ver. 11an iniquity to be punished by the judges,

for I would have been false to God above.

29 "If I have *Prov. 17:5rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,

or exulted when evil overtook him

30 (*[Matt. 5:44;Rom. 12:14]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 *Ex. 16:12;1 Sam. 25:11meat?’

32 (*[Gen. 19:2,3;Judg. 19:20,21;Matt. 25:35;Heb. 13:2]the sojourner has not lodged in the street;

I have opened my doors to the traveler),

33 if I *Prov. 28:13have concealed my transgressions *Gen. 3:8,12as others do*31:33 Or as Adam did

by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

34 because I stood in great fear of *[Ex. 23:2]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 *ch. 13:22answer me!)

Oh, that I had *[ch. 19:23]the indictment written by my adversary!

36 Surely I would carry it on my *Isa. 9:6;22:22shoulder;

I would *Prov. 6:21bind it on me as *Zech. 6:11a 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 *[ch. 22:6-9;Luke 10:7;2 Tim. 2:6;James 5:4] if I have eaten its yield without payment

and made its owners *[1 Kgs. 21:16,19]breathe their last,

40 let *Gen. 3:18thorns grow instead of wheat,

and foul weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are ended.