Job
Chapter 31
1 I promised myself not to look with desire; so why should I think about a young woman?
2 What does a person get from God above? And what does the Almighty give from high up?
3 Isn’t destruction meant for the wicked, and an unusual punishment for those who do wrong?
4 Doesn’t God see how I live and count every step I take?
5 If I have lived with falsehood or hurried to deceive;
6 Let me be measured in a fair scale so God can see my honesty.
7 If I have gone off the path, and my heart followed what I saw, and if any stain has stuck to my hands;
8 Let me plant seeds, but let someone else eat the harvest; yes, let my descendants be destroyed.
9 If my heart was misled by a woman, or if I waited secretly at my neighbor’s door;
10 Let my wife work for another man, and let other men be with her.
11 This is a terrible crime, yes, it’s a wrongdoing that the judges must punish.
12 It is a fire that burns until everything is destroyed and would remove all my growth.
13 If I ignored my male or female servant’s complaint against me;
14 What should I do when God stands up? And when He comes to check, what will I say to Him?
15 Didn’t the same God who created me in the womb also create him? And didn’t one shape both of us inside the womb?
16 If I have denied the poor what they wanted, or made the widow’s eyes weary;
17 I did not eat my food alone and ignored the orphans; they ate with me.
18 Since I was young, he grew up with me like a father, and I’ve guided her since I was in my mother’s womb.
19 If I have seen anyone die because they had no clothes, or any poor person without a blanket;
20 If he didn’t thank me or wasn’t warmed by my sheep’s wool;
21 If I raised my hand against an orphan when I saw my support at the city gate:
22 Let my arm drop off from my shoulder, and my arm be broken from its bone.
23 I was scared of being destroyed by God, and because he is so great, I couldn’t bear it.
24 If I have put my hope in gold or told pure gold, ‘You are my trust;’
25 If I was happy because I was very rich and my own efforts brought me a lot;
26 If I looked at the sun shining or the moon moving brightly;
27 My heart was secretly tempted, or my mouth kissed my hand.
28 This would also be a sin that a judge must punish, because I would have denied God above.
29 If I was happy when my enemy was destroyed, or felt proud when bad things happened to him:
30 I have not let my mouth sin by cursing his life.
31 If the people in my home never said, “We wish we had his meat!” they are not content.
32 The traveler did not sleep in the street; I opened my doors to them.
33 If I hid my wrongs like Adam, keeping my sins close to me:
34 Was I scared of many people, or did the scorn of families frighten me, so that I stayed quiet and didn’t go outside?
35 I wish someone would listen to me! Look, what I want is for God to respond to me, and for my opponent to have written down his accusations.
36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.
37 I would tell him how many steps I have taken; like a leader, I would approach him.
38 If my land cries out against me or its furrows also speak out;
39 If I have eaten its fruits without paying, or if I have caused the owners to lose their life:
40 Let weeds grow instead of wheat, and useless plants instead of barley. Job has finished speaking.