Job 31:16-23

GOD’S WORD Translation

¹⁶ “If I have refused the requests of the poor
or made a widow’s eyes stop ⌞looking for help⌟,
¹⁷ or have eaten my food alone
without letting the orphan eat any of it….
¹⁸ (From my youth the orphan grew up with me
as though I were his father,
and from my birth I treated the widow kindly.)
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone die because he had no clothes
or a poor person going naked….
²⁰ (If his body didn’t bless me,
or the wool from my sheep didn’t keep him warm….)
²¹ If I have shaken my fist at an orphan
because I knew that others would back me up in court,
²² ⌞then⌟ let my shoulder fall out of its socket,
and let my arm be broken at the elbow.

²³ “A disaster from God terrifies me.
In the presence of his majesty I can do nothing.