31 I made a brit (covenant) with mine eyes; how then look I upon a betulah?

² For what chelek of Eloah is there from above? And what nachalah of Shaddai from on high?

³ Is not destruction to the wicked? And a disaster to the poalei aven (workers of wrong)?

⁴ Doth not He see my derech, and count all my steps?

⁵ If I have walked with shav (vanity, falsehood), or if my regel hath hasted to mirmah (deceit),

⁶ Let me be weighed in scales of tzedek that Eloah may know mine tom (integrity).

⁷ If my step hath turned out of the derech, and mine lev walked after mine eyes, and if any mum hath cleaved to mine hands,

⁸ Then let me sow, and let acher (another) eat; yea, let my harvest be uprooted.

⁹ If mine lev have been deceived by an isha, or if I have lurked at petach (doorway) of my re’a;

¹⁰ Then let my isha grind for another, and let another kneel over her.

¹¹ For this is a heinous crime; yea, it is an avon to be brought before judges.

¹² For it is an eish that consumeth to Abaddon, and would root out all mine increase.

¹³ If I did despise the mishpat (cause) of my eved or of my amah, when they contended with me,

¹⁴ What then shall I do when El riseth up? And when He visiteth, what shall I answer Him?

¹⁵ Did not He that made me in the beten make them? And did not Echad fashion us in the rechem?

¹⁶ If I have withheld the poor from their chefetz (desire), or have caused the eyes of the almanah to grow weary,

¹⁷ Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the yatom hath not eaten thereof;

¹⁸ (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with an av, and I have guided her from beten immi;)

¹⁹ If I have seen any oved (one perishing) for want of clothing, or any evyon (needy) without covering,

²⁰ If his heart did not bless me for warming him with the giz (fleece) of my sheep,

²¹ If I have lifted up my yad against the yatom, when I saw my influence in the sha’ar (gate, court);

²² Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder, and mine zero’a be broken from its socket.

²³ For destruction from El was a pachad to me, and by reason of His majesty I could not endure.

²⁴ If I have made zahav my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my security,

²⁵ If I rejoice because my wealth was rav (great), and because mine yad had gotten much,

²⁶ If I beheld the ohr when it shined, or the yarei’ach moving in splendor,

²⁷ And my lev hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my yad [in heathen worship];

²⁸ This also were an avon to be punished by the judge; for then I would have been unfaithful, denying El that is on high.

²⁹ If I rejoice at the misfortune of him that hated me, or gloated when rah found him,

³⁰ Neither have I allowed my mouth to sin by invoking a curse to his nefesh.

³¹ Have the men of my ohel not said, Where can we find one who has not been sated with his basar (meat)?

³² The stranger did not spend the night in the street, but I opened my delet to the ger.

³³ If I concealed my peysha like Adam, by hiding mine avon in my heart,

³⁴ Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of mishpekhot terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of doors?

³⁵ Oh that one would hear me! See, my tav [signature], that Shaddai would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a sefer [of indictment];

³⁶ Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder, and bind it to me like atarot (crowns).

³⁷ I would declare unto Him the number of my steps; like a nagid (prince) would I go near unto Him.

³⁸ If my adamah cry against me, or if the furrows had wept together,

³⁹ If I have eaten the yield thereof without kesef (payment), or have broken the nefesh of the tenants thereof,

⁴⁰ Let thistles grow instead of chittim (wheat), and weed instead of barley. The divrei Iyov are ended.