NET Bible

Job Vindicates Himself

^31:1 “I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? ^31:2 What then would be one’s lot from God above, one’s heritage from the Almighty on high? ^31:3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust and disaster for those who work iniquity? ^31:4 Does he not see my ways and count all my steps? ^31:5 If I have walked in falsehood and if my foot has hastened to deceit— ^31:6 let him weigh me with honest scales; then God will discover my integrity. ^31:7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands, ^31:8 then let me sow and let another eat, and let my crops be uprooted. ^31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, ^31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men commit adultery with her. ^31:11 For I would have committed a shameful act, an iniquity to be judged. ^31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest. ^31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, ^31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him? ^31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb? ^31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, ^31:17 if I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans — ^31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow — ^31:19 if I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without a coat, ^31:20 whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, ^31:21 if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court, ^31:22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let my arm be broken off at the socket. ^31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his majesty I was powerless. ^31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security!’ ^31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained, ^31:26 if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing, ^31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, ^31:28 then this also would be iniquity to be judged, for I would have been false to God above. ^31:29 If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy or exulted because calamity found him— ^31:30 I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse— ^31:31 if the members of my household have never said, ‘If only there were someone who has not been satisfied from Job’s meat!’— ^31:32 but no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler — ^31:33 if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart, ^31:34 because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors—

Job’s Appeal

^31:35 “If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature — let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written. ^31:36 Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown; ^31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would draw near to him.

Job’s Final Solemn Oath73

^31:38 “If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together, ^31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, or caused the death of its owners, ^31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, noxious weeds.”

^31:40 The words of Job are ended.