JOB 31 [†] “I have made a covenant with my  b eyes;

how then could I gaze at a virgin?

2 What would be  c my portion from God above

and  c my heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,

and disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4  d Does not he see my ways

and  e number all my steps?

5[†] “If I have walked with falsehood

and my foot has hastened to deceit;

6 (Let me be  f weighed in a just balance,

and let God know my integrity!)

7 if my step has turned aside from the way

and  g my heart has gone after my eyes,

and if any  h spot has stuck to my hands,

8 then let me  i sow, and another eat,

and let what grows for me [1] be rooted out.

9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,

and I have  j lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

10 then let my wife  k grind for another,

and let others  l bow down on her.

11[†] For that would be a heinous crime;

that would be an iniquity  m to be punished by the judges;

12 for that would be a fire  n that consumes as far as Abaddon,

and it would burn to the root all my increase.

13[†] “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,

when they brought a complaint against me,

14 what then shall I do when God rises up?

When he  o makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

15 Did  p not he who made me in the womb make him?

And did not one fashion us in the womb?

16[†] “If I have  q withheld anything that the poor desired,

or have  r caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17 or have eaten my morsel alone,

and the fatherless has not eaten of it

18 (for from my youth the fatherless [2] grew up with me as with a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow [3]),

19 if I have seen anyone  s perish for  t lack of clothing,

or the needy without  t covering,

20 if his body has not  u blessed me, [4]

and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against  v the fatherless,

because I saw my help in  w the gate,

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,

and let my arm be broken from its socket.

23 For I was  x in terror of calamity from God,

and I could not have faced his  x majesty.

24[†]  y “If I have made gold my  z trust

or called  a fine gold my confidence,

25 if I have  b rejoiced because my wealth was abundant

or because  c my hand had found much,

26  d if I have looked at the sun [5] when it shone,

or  e the moon moving in splendor,

27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,

and my mouth has kissed my hand,

28 this also would be  f an iniquity to be punished by the judges,

for I would have been false to God above.

29 “If I have  g rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,

or exulted when evil overtook him

30 ( h I have not let my mouth sin

by asking for his life with a curse),

31[†] if the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who is there that has not been filled with his  i meat?’

32 ( j the sojourner has not lodged in the street;

I have opened my doors to the traveler),

33[†] if I  k have concealed my transgressions  l as others do [6]

by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

34 because I stood in great fear of  m the multitude,

and the contempt of families terrified me,

so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—

35[†] Oh, that I had one to hear me!

(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty  n answer me!)

Oh, that I had  o the indictment written by my adversary!

36 Surely I would carry it on my  p shoulder;

I would  q bind it on me as  r a crown;

37 I would give him an account of all my steps;

like a prince I would approach him.

38 “If my land has cried out against me

and its furrows have wept together,

39  s if I have eaten its yield without payment

and made its owners  t breathe their last,

40 let  u thorns grow instead of wheat,

and foul weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.