Job 31:1-23
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Final Defense Continued
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
so[a] how could I look closely upon a virgin?
2 And what is the portion of God from above
or[b] the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
3 Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
8 let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor’s doorway I have lain in wait,
10 let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
11 for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.[c]
12 Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
13 “If I have rejected my male or[d] female slave’s case
when their complaint was against me,
14 then[e] what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or[f] I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
17 or I have eaten my morsel alone,[g]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (for from my childhood he[h] grew up with[i] me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her[j]),
19 if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or[k] that there is no covering for the poor,
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
or[l] by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
21 if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless[m] because of his majesty.
Footnotes
- Job 31:1 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:2 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:11 Literally “an iniquity of judges”
- Job 31:13 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:14 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:16 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:17 Literally “to alone me”
- Job 31:18 Probably referring to “the orphan”
- Job 31:18 Literally “reared”
- Job 31:18 Probably referring to “the widow”
- Job 31:19 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:20 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:23 Literally “I was not able”
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