| Chapter 31 |
1 | A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what -- do I attend to a virgin? |
2 | And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights? |
3 | Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity? |
4 | Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number? |
5 | If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit, |
6 | He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity. |
7 | If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish, |
8 | Let me sow -- and another eat, And my products let be rooted out. |
9 | If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait, |
10 | Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend. |
11 | For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity; |
12 | For a fire it [is], to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root, |
13 | If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me, |
14 | Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him? |
15 | Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One. |
16 | If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume, |
17 | And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it, |
18 | (But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.) |
19 | If I see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy, |
20 | If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself, |
21 | If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in [him] the gate of my court, |
22 | My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken. |
23 | For a dread unto me [is] calamity [from] God, And because of His excellency I am not able. |
24 | If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, 'My trust,' |
25 | If I rejoice because great [is] my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found, |
26 | If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking, |
27 | And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth, |
28 | It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above. |
29 | If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him, |
30 | Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life. |
31 | If not -- say ye, O men of my tent, 'O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.' |
32 | In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open. |
33 | If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity, |
34 | Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening. |
35 | Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written. |
36 | If not -- on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself. |
37 | The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him. |
38 | If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep, |
39 | If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out, |
40 | Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished. |