Job 31

Christian Standard Bible

31 I have made a covenant with my eyes.^(A)
How then could I look at a young woman?^[a](B)
2 For what portion^(C) would I have from God above,
or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?
³ Doesn’t disaster come to the unjust
and misfortune to evildoers?
⁴ Does he not see my ways
and number all my steps?^(D)

⁵ If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has rushed to deceit,
⁶ let God weigh me on accurate scales,^(E)
and he will recognize my integrity.^(F)

⁷ If my step has turned from the way,
my heart has followed my eyes,
or impurity has stained my hands,^(G)
8 let someone else eat what I have sown,
and let my crops be uprooted.^(H)

⁹ If my heart has gone astray over a woman
or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰ let my own wife grind grain for another man,
and let other men sleep with^[b] her.
¹¹ For that would be a disgrace;
it would be an iniquity deserving punishment.^(I)
12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;
it would destroy my entire harvest.^(J)

¹³ If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants
when they made a complaint against me,
¹⁴ what could I do when God stands up to judge?
How should I answer him when he calls me to account?
¹⁵ Did not the one who made me in the womb also make them?
Did not the same God form us both in the womb?^(K)

¹⁶ If I have refused the wishes of the poor
or let the widow’s^(L) eyes go blind,
¹⁷ if I have eaten my few crumbs alone
without letting the fatherless eat any of it—
¹⁸ for from my youth, I raised him as his father,
and since the day I was born^[c] I guided the widow—
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing
or a needy person without a cloak,^(M)
20 if he^[d] did not bless me
while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,
²¹ if I ever cast my vote^[e] against a fatherless child
when I saw that I had support in the city gate,^(N)
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back,
and my arm be pulled from its socket.
²³ For disaster from God terrifies me,
and because of his majesty I could not do these things.^(O)

²⁴ If I placed my confidence in gold
or called fine gold my trust,^(P)
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great
or because my own hand has acquired so much,
²⁶ if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining
or at the moon moving in splendor,^(Q)
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed
and I threw them a kiss,^[f]
28 this would also be an iniquity deserving punishment,
for I would have denied God above.

²⁹ Have I rejoiced over my enemy’s distress,
or become excited when trouble came his way?
³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking for his life with a curse.
³¹ Haven’t the members of my household said,
“Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job’s table?”
³² No stranger had to spend the night on the street,
for I opened my door to the traveler.
³³ Have I covered my transgressions^(R) as others do^[g]
by hiding my iniquity in my heart^(S)
34 because I greatly feared the crowds
and because the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?

³⁵ If only I had someone to hear my case!^(T)
Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.
Let my Opponent compose his indictment.
³⁶ I would surely carry it on my shoulder
and wear it like a crown.^(U)
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
I would approach him like a prince.

³⁸ If my land cries out against me
and its furrows join in weeping,
³⁹ if I have consumed its produce without payment
or shown contempt for its tenants,^[h]
40 then let thorns^(V) grow instead of wheat
and stinkweed^(W) instead of barley.