Parallel

Job 31

World English Bible British Edition · Berean Standard Bible

31:1

“I made a covenant with my eyes;

“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?

31:2

For what is the portion from God above,

For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high?

31:3

Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,

Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity?

31:4

Doesn’t he see my ways,

Does He not see my ways and count my every step?

31:5

“If I have walked with falsehood,

If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,

31:6

(let me be weighed in an even balance,

let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.

31:7

if my step has turned out of the way,

If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands,

31:8

then let me sow, and let another eat.

then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

31:9

“If my heart has been enticed to a woman,

If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door,

31:10

then let my wife grind for another,

then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her.

31:11

For that would be a heinous crime.

For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged.

31:12

for it is a fire that consumes to destruction,

For it is a fire that burns down to ; it would root out my entire harvest.

31:13

“If I have despised the cause of my male servant

If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me,

31:14

what then will I do when God rises up?

what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account?

31:15

Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him?

Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?

31:16

“If I have withheld the poor from their desire,

If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail,

31:17

or have eaten my morsel alone,

if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless—

31:18

(no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,

though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—

31:19

if I have seen any perish for want of clothing,

if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak,

31:20

if his heart hasn’t blessed me,

if his heart has not for warming him with the fleece of my sheep,

31:21

if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,

if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,

31:22

then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade,

then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket.

31:23

For calamity from God is a terror to me.

For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.

31:24

“If I have made gold my hope,

If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security,

31:25

If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

31:26

if I have seen the sun when it shined,

if I have beheld in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

31:27

and my heart has been secretly enticed,

so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

31:28

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

this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high.

31:29

“If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,

If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him—

31:30

(I have certainly not allowed my mouth to sin

I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—

31:31

if the men of my tent have not said,

if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—

31:32

(the foreigner has not camped in the street,

but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler—

31:33

if like Adam I have covered my transgressions,

if I have covered my transgressions by hiding my guilt in my heart,

31:34

because I feared the great multitude,

because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—

31:35

oh that I had one to hear me!

(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.

31:36

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

31:37

I would declare to him the number of my steps.

I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—

31:38

If my land cries out against me,

if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together,

31:39

if I have eaten its fruits without money,

if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,

31:40

let briers grow instead of wheat,

then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.