Jó 31

1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes;

Why then should I look upon a *(Matt. 5:28)young woman?

2 For what is the *Job 20:29allotment of God from above,

And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is it not destruction for the wicked,

And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4 *(2 Chr. 16:9); Job 24:23; 28:24; 34:21; 36:7; (Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 32:19)Does He not see my ways,

And count all my steps?

5 "If I have walked with falsehood,

Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

6 Let me be weighed on honest scales,

That God may know my *Job 23:10; 27:5, 6integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way,

Or *Num. 15:39; (Eccl. 11:9); Ezek. 6:9; (Matt. 5:29)my heart walked after my eyes,

Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

8 Then*Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:30, 38; Job 20:18; Mic. 6:15let me sow, and another eat;

Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

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

Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10 Then let my wife grind for *Deut. 28:30; 2 Sam. 12:11; Jer. 8:10another,

And let others bow down over her.

11 For that wouldbe wickedness;

Yes, *Gen. 38:24; (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22); Job 31:28it wouldbe iniquity deservingof judgment.

12 For that wouldbe a fire that consumes to destruction,

And would root out all my increase.

13 "If I have *(Deut. 24:14, 15)despised the cause of my male or female servant

When they complained against me,

14 What then shall I do when *(Ps. 44:21)God rises up?

When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

15 *Job 34:19; Prov. 14:31; 22:2; (Mal. 2:10)Did not He who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

16 "If I have kept the poor from their desire,

Or caused the eyes of the widow to *Job 29:12fail,

17 Or eaten my morsel by myself,

So that the fatherless could not eat of it

18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father,

And from my mother’s womb I guided thewidow);

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or any poor man without covering;

20 If his heart has not *(Deut. 24:13)blessed me,

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

21 If I have raised my hand *Job 22:9against the fatherless,

When I saw I had help in the gate;

22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,

Let my arm be torn from the socket.

23 For *Is. 13:6destruction from God is a terror to me,

And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

24 "If*(Matt. 6:19, 20; Mark 10:23–25) I have made gold my hope,

Or said to fine gold, ‘Youare my confidence’;

25 *Job 1:3, 10; Ps. 62:10If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had gained much;

26 *(Deut. 4:19; 17:3); Ezek. 8:16If I have observed the sun when it shines,

Or the moon moving in brightness,

27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed,

And my mouth has kissed my hand;

28 This also wouldbe an iniquity deservingof judgment,

For I would have denied God whois above.

29 "If*(Prov. 17:5; 24:17); Obad. 12 I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,

Or lifted myself up when evil found him

30 *(Matt. 5:44)(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for a curse on his soul);

31 If the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

32 *Gen. 19:2, 3(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,

For I have opened my doors to the traveler);

33 If I have covered my transgressions *Gen. 3:10; (Prov. 28:13)as Adam,

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34 Because I feared the great *Ex. 23:2multitude,

And dreaded the contempt of families,

So that I kept silence

And did not go out of the door—

35 *Job 19:7; 30:20, 24, 28Oh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my mark.

Oh, *Job 13:22, 24; 33:10that the Almighty would answer me,

That my Prosecutor 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 weep together;

39 If *Job 24:6, 10–12; (James 5:4)I have eaten its fruit without money,

Or *1 Kin. 21:19caused its owners to lose their lives;

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

And weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are ended.