Job 31:16-23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail(A)
17 or have eaten my morsel alone
and the orphan has not eaten from it—(B)
18 for from my youth I reared the orphan[a] like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow[b]—
19 if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing
or a poor person without covering,
20 whose loins have not blessed me,
and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;(C)
21 if I have raised my hand against the orphan
because I saw I had supporters at the gate;(D)
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.(E)
23 For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.(F)
Job 31:16-23
Common English Bible
The defenseless
16 If I have denied what the poor wanted,
made a widow’s eyes tired,
17 eaten my morsel alone,
and not shared any with an orphan
(18 for from my youth I raised the orphan as a father,
and from my mother’s womb I led the widow);[a]
19 if I ever saw someone dying without clothes, the needy naked;
20 if they haven’t blessed me fervently,[b]
or if they weren’t warmed by the wool from my sheep;
21 if I have lifted my hand against the orphans,
when I saw that I had help in the city gate—
22 may my arm fall from my shoulder,
my forearm be broken at the elbow—
23 for God’s calamity is terror to me;
I couldn’t endure his splendor.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible