Job 31
World English Bible
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
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 Doesn’t he see my ways,
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
and my foot has hurried to deceit
6 (let me be weighed in an even balance,
that God may know my integrity);
7 if my step has turned out of the way,
if my heart walked after my eyes,
if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me sow, and let another eat.
Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed to a woman,
and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let others sleep with her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime.
Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
12 for it is a fire that consumes to destruction,
and would root out all my increase.
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male servant
or of my female servant,
when they contended with me,
14 what then will I do when God rises up?
When he visits, what will I answer him?
15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him?
Didn’t 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 has not eaten of it
18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
I have guided her 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 heart hasn’t blessed me,
if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
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 my arm be broken from the bone.
23 For calamity from God is a terror to me.
Because of his majesty, I can do nothing.
24 “If I have made gold my hope,
and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had gotten much;
26 if I have seen the sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
for I should have denied the God who is above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when evil found him
30 (yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking his life with a curse);
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
32 (the foreigner has not camped in the street,
but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 if like Adam I have covered my transgressions,
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I feared the great multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door—
35 oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!
Let the accuser write my indictment!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
and I would bind it to me as a crown.
37 I would declare to him the number of my steps.
I would go near to him like a prince.
38 If my land cries out against me,
and its furrows weep together;
39 if I have eaten its fruits without money,
or have caused its owners to lose their life,
40 let briers grow instead of wheat,
and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Job 31
New Living Translation
Job’s Final Protest of Innocence
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with lust at a young woman.
2 For what has God above chosen for us?
What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Isn’t it calamity for the wicked
and misfortune for those who do evil?
4 Doesn’t he see everything I do
and every step I take?
5 “Have I lied to anyone
or deceived anyone?
6 Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
for he knows my integrity.
7 If I have strayed from his pathway,
or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,
or if I am guilty of any other sin,
8 then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.
Let all that I have planted be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,
10 then let my wife serve[a] another man;
let other men sleep with her.
11 For lust is a shameful sin,
a crime that should be punished.
12 It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.[b]
It would wipe out everything I own.
13 “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants
when they brought their complaints to me,
14 how could I face God?
What could I say when he questioned me?
15 For God created both me and my servants.
He created us both in the womb.
16 “Have I refused to help the poor,
or crushed the hopes of widows?
17 Have I been stingy with my food
and refused to share it with orphans?
18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
and all my life I have cared for widows.
19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes
and the needy with nothing to wear,
20 did they not praise me
for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?
21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan,
knowing the judges would take my side,
22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
Let my arm be torn from its socket!
23 That would be better than facing God’s judgment.
For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?
24 “Have I put my trust in money
or felt secure because of my gold?
25 Have I gloated about my wealth
and all that I own?
26 “Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,
or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
27 and been secretly enticed in my heart
to throw kisses at them in worship?
28 If so, I should be punished by the judges,
for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.
29 “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
or become excited when harm came their way?
30 No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone
or by asking for revenge.
31 “My servants have never said,
‘He let others go hungry.’
32 I have never turned away a stranger
but have opened my doors to everyone.
33 “Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,
concealing my guilt in my heart?
34 Have I feared the crowd
or the contempt of the masses,
so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?
35 “If only someone would listen to me!
Look, I will sign my name to my defense.
Let the Almighty answer me.
Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
36 I would face the accusation proudly.
I would wear it like a crown.
37 For I would tell him exactly what I have done.
I would come before him like a prince.
38 “If my land accuses me
and all its furrows cry out together,
39 or if I have stolen its crops
or murdered its owners,
40 then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,
and weeds instead of barley.”
Job’s words are ended.
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
