1 "I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl. |
2 For what is man's lot from God above,
his heritage from the Almighty on high? |
3 Is it not ruin for the wicked,
disaster for those who do wrong? |
4 Does he not see my ways
and count my every step? |
5 "If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit- |
6 let God weigh me in honest scales
and he will know that I am blameless- |
7 if my steps have turned from the path,
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands have been defiled, |
8 then may others eat what I have sown,
and may my crops be uprooted. |
9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door, |
10 then may my wife grind another man's grain,
and may other men sleep with her. |
11 For that would have been shameful,
a sin to be judged. |
12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction1 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon ;
it would have uprooted my harvest. |
13 "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants
when they had a grievance against me, |
14 what will I do when God confronts me?
What will I answer when called to account? |
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? |
16 "If I have denied the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, |
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless- |
18 but from my youth I reared him as would a father,
and from my birth I guided the widow- |
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
or a needy man without a garment, |
20 and his heart did not bless me
for warming him with the fleece from my sheep, |
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court, |
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint. |
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things. |
24 "If I have put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,' |
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,
the fortune my hands had gained, |
26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance
or the moon moving in splendor, |
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, |
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high. |
29 "If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune
or gloated over the trouble that came to him- |
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against his life- |
31 if the men of my household have never said,
'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?'- |
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler- |
33 if I have concealed my sin as men do,2 31:33 Or as Adam did
by hiding my guilt in my heart |
34 because I so feared the crowd
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent and would not go outside |
35 ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense-let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing. |
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,
I would put it on like a crown. |
37 I would give him an account of my every step;
like a prince I would approach him.)- |
38 "if my land cries out against me
and all its furrows are wet with tears, |
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment
or broken the spirit of its tenants, |
40 then let briers come up instead of wheat
and weeds instead of barley." |
