Job 31
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.
24 “If I have made gold my trust,
or[n] I have called fine gold my security,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or[o] because my hand found a fortune,
26 if I looked at the sun when it shone
or[p] at the moon moving in splendor,
27 and I was secretly enticed,[q]
and my hand threw them a kiss,[r]
28 this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or[s] have exulted when evil overtook him—
30 no,[t] I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,[u]
‘O that[v] someone[w] had not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
33 Have I concealed[x] my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
34 because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
35 O that[y] I had[z] someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for[aa] the written communication that my adversary[ab] has written,
36 I would surely[ac] carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
38 If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or[ad] I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
40 let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
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”
- Job 31:24 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:25 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:26 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:27 Literally “it was gullible in the secrecy of my heart”
- Job 31:27 Literally “my hand kissed for my mouth”
- Job 31:29 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:30 Hebrew “and”
- Job 31:31 Literally “If the people of my tent have not said”
- Job 31:31 Literally “who shall give”
- Job 31:31 Or “he”
- Job 31:33 Literally “If I have concealed”
- Job 31:35 Literally “Who shall give”
- Job 31:35 Literally “for me”
- Job 31:35 Hebrew “And,” or “But”
- Job 31:35 Literally “the man of my indictment”
- Job 31:36 Literally “if not”
- Job 31:39 Hebrew “and”
Job 31
Tree of Life Version
Job Asks for Judgment
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to pay attention to a virgin.
2 For what is one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from Shaddai on high?
3 Is it not calamity for the unjust,
and disaster for workers of iniquity?
4 Does He not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has hurried to deceit,
6 then let Him weigh me with honest scales,
then God will know my integrity.
7 If my step has strayed from the way,
if my heart has walked after my eyes,
or if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me sow and another eat,
and let my crops be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
or I have lurked 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 shameful act,
an iniquity to be judged.
12 For it is a fire that devours to destruction,
and uproots all my harvest.
13 “If I have denied justice to my male or female servant
when they disputed with me,
14 then what could I do when God rises up;
when He visits, how will I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb, make him?
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
16 “If I withheld the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 if I ate my morsel of bread myself,
without letting an orphan eat of it
18 (but from my youth I reared him as a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her),
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing
or the needy without a covering,
20 if his heart did not bless me
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken off at the joint.
23 For calamity from God was a terror to me,
and because of His majesty, I could do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to fine gold, ‘You are my security,’
25 if I rejoiced because of my great wealth
or because of the abundance my hand acquired,
26 if I looked at the sun when it shines
or the moon moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 then this also would be iniquity to be judged,
for I would have denied God above.
29 “If I rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune
or gloated because calamity found him—
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
by asking for his life with a curse—
31 if anyone in my household has ever said,
‘Who has not been filled with his meat?’
32 —but no stranger had to spend the night outside
for my door was open to the traveler—
33 if I have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
by hiding my guilt in my bosom
34 because I feared a great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept silent
and would not go outside.
35 O, that I had someone to hear me!
Look, here is my signature,
let Shaddai answer me,
let the accuser write the indictment!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me as a crown.
37 I would give Him an account 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 I have eaten its fruits without money,
or caused the death of its owners,
40 then let briars come up instead of wheat,
and stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
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Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.