Job 31
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?
2 For what is the (B)allotment 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 (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.
7 If my step has turned from the way,
Or (E)my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8 Then (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,
10 Then let my wife grind for (G)another,
And let others bow down over her.
11 For that would be wickedness;
Yes, (H)it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12 For 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,
14 What 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,
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 [d]the widow);
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his [e]heart has not (M)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand (N)against 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 (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,
27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 This 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);
31 If 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);
33 If I have covered my transgressions (V)as[i] Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because 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!
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 (Z)I have eaten its [k]fruit without money,
Or (AA)caused its owners to lose their lives;
40 Then let (AB)thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Job 31
EasyEnglish Bible
Job continues to speak[a]
31 ‘I have made a promise with myself
about how I look at young women.
I will never think that I want to have sex with them.
2 Anyone who does that should expect God to punish them.
Almighty God in heaven above punishes people who do wrong things.
3 He sends trouble to people who do wicked things.
He punishes those people who do evil things.
4 God sees all the things that I do.
He carefully watches how I live my life.
5 He must know that I am an honest man.
I have never tried to deceive people.
6 So he should judge me in a fair way.
He should realize that I am not guilty.
7 God seems to think that I have not lived in the right way.
He may think that I have wanted bad things
when they looked nice to me.
Or perhaps I have done something else that was wrong.
8 If am really guilty of these things,
someone else should eat the crops that I have planted.
They should destroy all the crops in my fields.
9 I have not wanted to love any woman
except my wife.
I have not hidden outside my friend's house
to wait for his wife to be alone.
10 If I had done those things,
my wife should prepare food for another man.
It would be right for other men to have sex with her.
11 I would not have been faithful to my wife.
I would have done a wicked thing
and I would deserve punishment.
12 If I loved another woman,
it would be like a dangerous fire.
It would destroy everything that I have worked hard to get.
13 When my servants complain against me,
I have always been fair to them.
14 If I had been cruel to them,
God would be right to punish me.
When God judges me,
I would have no answer to excuse myself.
15 God made me and he made my servants too.
God brought us all to birth.
16 I have never refused to help people who are poor.
I have always helped widows
to hope for good things.
17 I have never kept all my food for myself.
I have always shared it with children who have no family.
18 Since I was a young man,
I have helped those children like a father.
All my life I have helped widows too.
19 I have seen people without enough clothes to keep them warm,
or without a coat to wear.
20 Then I would give them clothes.
The wool from my sheep would keep them warm.
And they all thanked me.
21 I have not turned against children who have no family,
even when the city judges agreed with me.
22 God should punish me if these things are not true.
I would accept the punishment that I deserve.
23 I was afraid of the trouble that God might bring to me.
So I could not do these bad things,
because God is so great and powerful.
24 I have not trusted in money or in gold.
I have never thought that they would make me strong.
25 When I was very rich,
I was not proud about it.
I did not think that I had worked hard to deserve it.
26 I have looked at the sun when it shines brightly.
And I have seen the moon when it is very beautiful.
27 But I have never wanted to worship them
or to give them honour.
28 If I had done that,
I would not have been faithful to God in heaven.
I would have deserved punishment for that sin.
29 I do not laugh at my enemies
when they suffer.
If my enemy has troubles,
it does not make me happy.
30 I have not cursed my enemies,
to ask God to kill them.
That would have caused a sin to come from my mouth!
31 None of the people who work in my house have ever said,
“Job has not welcomed strangers into his house.
He has not shared his food with them.”
32 Travellers may come to sleep in my house.
They do not have to sleep outside in the street.
33 I do not try to hide my sins,
as some people do.
34 I am not afraid of what people think about me.
Even if a great crowd of people speak against me,
I do not stay inside my house and keep quiet.
35 I want someone to listen to me!
All the things that I say are true.
Almighty God should give me an answer!
I need to know what I have done that is wrong.
He should write down the reason why I am guilty!
36 Then I would show that paper clearly on my shoulders.
I would be proud to wear it like a crown on my head.
37 I would explain to God everything that I have done.
I would stand in front of him without fear, like a ruler.
38 I have not grown crops on land that does not belong to me.
The land itself would accuse me if that were true.
39 I have always paid for the food
that other people have worked to grow.
I have never cheated the farmers
so that they suffered.
40 If I have ever done any of those things,
then may thorn bushes grow in my fields instead of wheat.
May weeds grow in my fields instead of barley.’
That is the end of the things that Job said.
Footnotes
- 31:1 In chapter 31, Job says that he has always lived the right way. He says that he has always spoken true words. He says that he has always been fair. He has helped other people who have been in trouble. He is sure that God knows this. He wants to know why God is punishing him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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