Job 31
Contemporary English Version
Job Continues
I Promised Myself
31 I promised myself
never to stare with desire
at a young woman.
2 God All-Powerful punishes
men who do that.
3 In fact, God sends disaster
on all who sin,
4 and he keeps a close watch
on everything I do.
5 I am not dishonest or deceitful,
6 and I beg God to prove
my innocence.
7 If I have disobeyed him
or even wanted to,
8 then others can eat my harvest
and uproot my crops.
9 If I have desired someone's wife
and chased after her,
10 then let some stranger
steal my wife from me.
11 If I took someone's wife,
it would be a horrible crime,
12 sending me to destruction
and my crops to the flames.[a]
13 When my servants
complained against me,
I was fair to them.
14 Otherwise, what answer
would I give to God
when he judges me?
15 After all, God is the one
who gave life to each of us
before we were born.
I Have Never Cheated Anyone
16 (A) I have never cheated widows
or others in need,
17 and I have always shared
my food with orphans.
18 Since the time I was young,
I have cared for orphans
and helped widows.[b]
19 I provided clothes for the poor,
20 and I was praised
for supplying woolen garments
to keep them warm.
21 If I have ever raised my arm
to threaten an orphan
when the power was mine,
22 I hope that arm will fall
from its socket.
23 I could not have been abusive;
I was terrified at the thought
that God might punish me.
24 (B) I have never trusted
the power of wealth,
25 or taken pride in owning
many possessions.
* 26 I have never openly or secretly
27 worshiped the sun or moon.
28 Such horrible sins
would have deserved
punishment from God.
29 I have never laughed
when my enemies
were struck by disaster.
30 Neither have I sinned
by asking God
to send down on them
the curse of death.
31 No one ever went hungry[c]
at my house,
32 and travelers
were always welcome.
33 Many have attempted to hide
their sins from others—
but I refused.
34 And the fear of public disgrace
never forced me to keep silent
about what I had done.
Why Doesn't God Listen?
35 Why doesn't God All-Powerful
listen and answer?
If God has something against me,
let him speak up
or put it in writing!
36 Then I would wear his charges
on my clothes and forehead.
37 And with my head held high,
I would tell him everything
I have ever done.
38 I have never mistreated
the land I farmed
and made it mourn.[d]
39 Nor have I cheated
my workers
and caused them pain.[e]
40 If I had, I would pray
for weeds instead of wheat
to grow in my fields.
After saying these things,
Job was silent.
Footnotes
- 31.12 flames: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
- 31.18 widows: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.
- 31.31 ever went hungry: Or “was ever sexually abused” (see Genesis 19.1-11; Judges 17.22-30). In ancient Israel, the lives of one's guests were sacred and had to be protected at any cost.
- 31.38 mourn: In biblical times there were strict regulations for proper use of the land, and land that was abused was said to “mourn” and become no longer productive.
- 31.39 pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 39.
Job 31
King James Version
31 I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
6 Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity.
7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;
8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door;
10 Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not 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 myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
25 If I rejoice because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
29 If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
31 If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.
32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.
33 If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:
34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.
36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.
37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.
38 If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Job 31
Expanded Bible
31 “But I ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant] with my eyes
not to ·look with desire [leer] at a ·girl [L virgin].
2 What ·has God above promised for people [L would be my portion with God above]?
What ·has the Almighty planned from [would be my inheritance/heritage with the Almighty/Shaddai] on high?
3 ·It is ruin [L Isn’t calamity reserved…?] for evil people
and ·disaster [misfortune] for those who do wrong.
4 ·God sees [L Does he not see…?] my ways
and counts every step I take.
5 “If I have ·been dishonest [L walked with falsehood]
or ·lied to others [L my feet hasten to fraud],
6 then let God weigh me on ·honest [just] scales [Prov. 11:1].
Then he will know I ·have done nothing wrong [am blameless/innocent].
7 If ·I have turned away from doing what is right [L my feet have wandered off the path; Prov. 2:20],
or my heart has ·been led by my eyes to do wrong [L followed my eyes],
or ·my hands have been made unclean [L blemish has clung to my hand],
8 then let ·other people eat what I have planted [L me sow and not eat],
and let my crops be ·plowed up [uprooted].
9 “If ·I have desired [L my heart has been enticed/seduced by] another woman [Prov. 5–7]
or have waited at my ·neighbor’s [or friend’s] door for his wife,
10 then let my wife grind ·another man’s grain [L another man; C a euphemism for sexual intercourse],
and let other men ·have sexual relations with [L kneel over] her.
11 That would be ·shameful [a foul deed],
a ·sin to be punished [a criminal offense; L a guilty thing before the judges].
12 It is like a fire that burns ·and destroys [L down to Abaddon; 26:6; 28:22];
all I have done would be ·plowed up [L burned to the root].
13 “If I ·have been unfair to [L reject proper judgment for] my male and female slaves
when they had a ·complaint [case] against me,
14 ·how could I tell God what I did [or what would I do when God rises against me]?
What will I answer when he asks me to explain what I’ve done?
15 God made me in my mother’s womb, and he also made them;
the same God formed both of us in our mothers’ wombs.
16 “I have never ·refused the appeals of the poor [or deprived the poor of some pleasure]
or ·let widows give up hope while looking for help [L caused the eyes of the widow to fail].
17 I have not ·kept my food to myself [eaten my morsel alone]
·but have given it to the orphans [L or not let orphans eat it].
18 Since I was young, ·I have been like a father to the orphans [L I have raised them like a father; or he (God) raised me like a father].
From ·my birth [L the womb of my mother] I guided the widows.
19 I have not let anyone ·die [L perish] for lack of clothes
or let a needy person go without ·a coat [L covering].
20 That person’s ·heart [L loins] blessed me,
because I warmed him with the ·wool [fleece] of my sheep.
21 I have never ·hurt [L raised my hand threateningly against] an orphan
even when I knew I ·could win in court [L had allies in the gate; C the city gate was where court was held].
22 If I have, then let my ·arm [L shoulder blade] fall off my shoulder
and [L my arm] be broken at the ·joint [socket].
23 I fear ·destruction [calamity] from God,
and I fear his ·majesty [ruin], so I could not do such things.
24 “I have not put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security.’
25 I have not ·celebrated [exulted in] my great wealth
or the ·riches [substance] my hands had gained.
26 I have not thought about worshiping the sun in its brightness
nor admired the moon moving in glory
27 so that my heart was ·pulled away from God [L enticed in secret].
My hand has never ·offered the sun and moon a kiss of worship [L passed a kiss from my mouth].
28 If I had, these also would have been ·sins to be punished [a criminal offense; L a guilty thing before the judges],
because I would have ·been unfaithful to [deceived; defrauded] God [L above].
29 “I have not been happy ·when my enemies fell [L in the disaster of those who hate me]
or ·laughed when they had trouble [L become excited when evil found them out].
30 I have not let my mouth sin
by cursing my enemies’ life.
31 The servants of my house have always said,
‘All have eaten what they want of Job’s food.’
32 No stranger ever had to ·spend the night [lodge] in the street,
because I ·always let travelers stay in my home [L opened the door to the traveler; C hospitality was highly valued in the ancient Near East].
33 I have not hidden my ·sin [transgression] ·as others do [or like Adam did; Gen. 3],
·secretly keeping my guilt to myself [L concealing my guilt in my bosom].
34 I was not so afraid of the crowd [large multitude]
that I kept quiet and ·stayed inside [L did not go out the door]
because I feared being ·hated [held in contempt] by other families.
35 (“How I wish ·a court would hear my case [L someone would listen to me]!
Here ·I sign my name to show I have told the truth [is my signature].
Now let ·the Almighty [Shaddai] answer me;
let the one who accuses me write ·it [an indictment/writ] down.
36 I would wear ·the writing [L it] on my shoulder;
I would ·put [L bind] it on like a crown.
37 I would ·explain to God [L give him an account of] every step I took,
and I would ·come near to [approach] him like a prince.)
38 “If my land cries out against me
and its ·plowed rows [furrows] ·are wet with tears [L have wept together],
39 if I have taken the land’s harvest without paying
or have broken the spirit of those who ·worked [or own] the land,
40 then let ·thorns [brambles] come up instead of wheat,
and let ·weeds [stinkweed] come up instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ·finished [ended].
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