Job 31

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood,
And my foot has hastened after deceit,
⁶ Let Him weigh me with ^[a]accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.
⁷ “If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart ^[b]followed my eyes,
Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ Let me sow and another eat,
And let my ^[c]crops be uprooted.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
¹⁰ May my wife grind for another,
And let others ^[d]kneel down over her.
¹¹ “For that would be a lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
¹² “For it would be fire that consumes to ^[e]Abaddon,
And would uproot all my ^[f]increase.

¹³ “If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
¹⁴ What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
¹⁵ “Did not He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not ^[g]shared it
¹⁸ (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from ^[h]infancy I guided her),
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering,
²⁰ If his loins have not ^[i]thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw ^[j]I had support in the gate,
²² Let my shoulder fall from the ^[k]socket,
And my arm be broken off ^[l]at the elbow.
²³ “For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His ^[m]majesty I can do nothing.

²⁴ “If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
²⁵ If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had secured so much;
²⁶ If I have looked at the ^[n]sun when it shone
Or the moon going in splendor,
²⁷ And my heart became secretly enticed,
And my hand ^[o]threw a kiss from my mouth,
²⁸ That too would have been an iniquity calling for ^[p]judgment,
For I would have denied God above.

²⁹ “Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
Or ^[q]exulted when evil befell him?
³⁰ “^[r]No, I have not ^[s]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.
³¹ “Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can ^[t]find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
³² “The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the ^[u]traveler.
³³ “Have I covered my transgressions like ^[v]Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
³⁴ Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
³⁵ “Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my ^[w]signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
I would bind it to myself 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 I have eaten its ^[x]fruit without money,
Or have caused ^[y]its owners to lose their lives,
⁴⁰ Let briars ^[z]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”