Hiob 31

1. ¹A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what -- do I attend to a virgin?
2. ²And what `is' the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?
3. ³Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?
4. ⁴Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number?
5. ⁵If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit,
6. ⁶He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity.
7. ⁷If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish,
8. ⁸Let me sow -- and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.
9. ⁹If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait,
10. ¹⁰Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.
11. ¹¹For it `is' a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;
12. ¹²For a fire it `is', to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,
13. ¹³If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,
14. ¹⁴Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him?
15. ¹⁵Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One.
16. ¹⁶If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,
17. ¹⁷And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,
18. ¹⁸(But from my youth He grew up with me as `with' a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.)
19. ¹⁹If I see `any' perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,
20. ²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,
21. ²¹If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in `him' the gate of my court,
22. ²²My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken.
23. ²³For a dread unto me `is' calamity `from' God, And because of His excellency I am not able.
24. ²⁴If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, `My trust,'
25. ²⁵If I rejoice because great `is' my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,
26. ²⁶If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,
27. ²⁷And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,
28. ²⁸It also `is' a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.
29. ²⁹If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,
30. ³⁰Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.
31. ³¹If not -- say ye, O men of my tent, `O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.'
32. ³²In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open.
33. ³³If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity,
34. ³⁴Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening.
35. ³⁵Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.
36. ³⁶If not -- on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself.
37. ³⁷The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.
38. ³⁸If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,
39. ³⁹If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,
40. ⁴⁰Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished.

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