²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread our hands in prayer to foreign gods,

⁹ You must never have a foreign god;
    you must not bow down before a false god.

¹³ “If only you would prepare your heart
    and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

³¹ Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals^[a];
    let Ethiopia^[b] bring tribute to God.

¹¹ They forgot what he had done—
    the great wonders he had shown them,

¹⁷ All this has happened though we have not forgotten you.
    We have not violated your covenant.

³ O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
⁴ if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

⁵ “Have I lied to anyone
    or deceived anyone?
⁶ Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
    for he knows my integrity.
⁷ If I have strayed from his pathway,
    or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,
    or if I am guilty of any other sin,
⁸ then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.
    Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

⁹ “If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
    or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,
¹⁰ then let my wife serve^[a] another man;
    let other men sleep with her.
¹¹ For lust is a shameful sin,
    a crime that should be punished.
¹² It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.^[b]
    It would wipe out everything I own.

¹³ “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants
    when they brought their complaints to me,
¹⁴ how could I face God?
    What could I say when he questioned me?
¹⁵ For God created both me and my servants.
    He created us both in the womb.

¹⁶ “Have I refused to help the poor,
    or crushed the hopes of widows?
¹⁷ Have I been stingy with my food
    and refused to share it with orphans?
¹⁸ No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
    and all my life I have cared for widows.
¹⁹ Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes
    and the needy with nothing to wear,
²⁰ did they not praise me
    for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

²¹ “If I raised my hand against an orphan,
    knowing the judges would take my side,
²² then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
    Let my arm be torn from its socket!
²³ That would be better than facing God’s judgment.
    For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

²⁴ “Have I put my trust in money
    or felt secure because of my gold?
²⁵ Have I gloated about my wealth
    and all that I own?

²⁶ “Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,
    or the moon walking down its silver pathway,
²⁷ and been secretly enticed in my heart
    to throw kisses at them in worship?
²⁸ If so, I should be punished by the judges,
    for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.

²⁹ “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
    or become excited when harm came their way?
³⁰ No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone
    or by asking for revenge.

³¹ “My servants have never said,
    ‘He let others go hungry.’
³² I have never turned away a stranger
    but have opened my doors to everyone.

³³ “Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,
    concealing my guilt in my heart?
³⁴ Have I feared the crowd
    or the contempt of the masses,
    so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

³⁵ “If only someone would listen to me!
    Look, I will sign my name to my defense.
Let the Almighty answer me.
    Let my accuser write out the charges against me.
³⁶ I would face the accusation proudly.
    I would wear it like a crown.
³⁷ For I would tell him exactly what I have done.
    I would come before him like a prince.

³⁸ “If my land accuses me
    and all its furrows cry out together,
³⁹ or if I have stolen its crops
    or murdered its owners,
⁴⁰ then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,
    and weeds instead of barley.”