Job 31-32

New King James Version

Job Defends His Righteousness

31 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I ^[a]look upon a ^(A)young woman?
²For what is the ^(B)allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
³Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
⁴^(C)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^[b]Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my ^(D)integrity.
⁷If my step has turned from the way,
Or ^(E)my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
⁸Then ^(F)let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be ^[c]rooted out.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰Then let my wife grind for ^(G)another,
And let others bow down over her.
¹¹For that would be wickedness;
Yes, ^(H)it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
¹²For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.

¹³“If I have ^(I)despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,
¹⁴What then shall I do when ^(J)God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
¹⁵^(K)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 ^(L)fail,
¹⁷Or 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 ^[d]the widow);
¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
²⁰If his ^[e]heart has not ^(M)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
²¹If I have raised my hand ^(N)against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
²²Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.
²³For ^(O)destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

²⁴“If^(P) I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
²⁵^(Q)If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gained much;
²⁶^(R)If I have observed the ^[f]sun when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,
²⁷So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;
²⁸This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.

²⁹“If^(S) I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him
³⁰^(T)(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his ^[g]soul);
³¹If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
³²^(U)(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the ^[h]traveler);
³³If I have covered my transgressions ^(V)as^[i] Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
³⁴Because I feared the great ^(W)multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—
³⁵^(X)Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, ^(Y)that the Almighty would answer me,
That my ^[j]Prosecutor had written a book!
³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;
³⁷I 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 ^(Z)I have eaten its ^[k]fruit without money,
Or ^(AA)caused its owners to lose their lives;
⁴⁰Then let ^(AB)thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Elihu Contradicts Job’s Friends

32 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was ^(AC)righteous in his own eyes. ²Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the ^(AD)Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he ^(AE)justified himself rather than God. ³Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.

⁴Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited ^[l]to speak to Job. ⁵When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.

⁶So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said:

“I am ^(AF)young in years, and you are very old;
Therefore I was afraid,
And dared not declare my opinion to you.
⁷I said, ^[m]‘Age should speak,
And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
⁸But there is a spirit in man,
And ^(AG)the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
⁹^(AH)Great^[n] men are not always wise,
Nor do the aged always understand justice.

¹⁰“Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,
I also will declare my opinion.’
¹¹Indeed I waited for your words,
I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.
¹²I paid close attention to you;
And surely not one of you convinced Job,
Or answered his words—
¹³^(AI)Lest you say,
‘We have found wisdom’;
God will vanquish him, not man.
¹⁴Now he has not ^[o]directed his words against me;
So I will not answer him with your words.

¹⁵“They are dismayed and answer no more;
Words escape them.
¹⁶And I have waited, because they did not speak,
Because they stood still and answered no more.
¹⁷I also will answer my part,
I too will declare my opinion.
¹⁸For I am full of words;
The spirit within me compels me.
¹⁹Indeed my ^[p]belly is like wine that has no ^[q]vent;
It is ready to burst like new wineskins.
²⁰I will speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
²¹Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone;
Nor let me flatter any man.
²²For I do not know how to flatter,
Else my Maker would soon take me ^(AJ)away.