Job 31

Job Chapter 31 ESV

Job maketh a solemn protestation of his integrity in several duties.
1 “I have made a covenant with my 1eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be 1my portion from God above and 2my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 1Does not he see my ways and 2number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be 1weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way and 1my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any 2spot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me 1sow, and another eat, and let what grows for mea be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have 1lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife 1grind for another, and let others 2bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime; that would be an iniquity 1to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire 1that 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 1makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did 1not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have 1withheld anything that the poor desired, or have 2caused 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 fatherlessa grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widowb),
19 if I have seen anyone 1perish for 2lack of clothing, or the needy without 3covering,
20 if his body has not 1blessed me,a and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against 1the fatherless, because I saw my help in 2the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was 1in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his 2majesty.
24 1“If I have made gold my 2trust or called 3fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have 1rejoiced because my wealth was abundant or because 2my hand had found much,
26 1if I have looked at the suna when it shone, or 2the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be 1an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have 1rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him
30 (1I 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 1meat?’
32 (1the sojourner has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I 1have concealed my transgressions 2as others doa by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of 1the 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 1answer me!) Oh, that I had 2the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my 1shoulder; I would 2bind it on me as 3a 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 1if I have eaten its yield without payment and made its owners 2breathe their last,
40 let 1thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
Job 31

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