| 1 | “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? |
| 2 | What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high? |
| 3 | Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity? |
| 4 | Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps? |
| 5 | “If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit — |
| 6 | let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity! — |
| 7 | if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, and if any spot has clung to my hands; |
| 8 | then let me sow, and another eat; and let what grows for me be rooted out. |
| 9 | “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door; |
| 10 | then let my wife grind for another, and let other men kneel over her. |
| 11 | For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense; |
| 12 | for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest. |
| 13 | “If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, when they brought a complaint against me; |
| 14 | what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him? |
| 15 | Did not he who made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb? |
| 16 | “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, |
| 17 | or have eaten my morsel alone, and the orphan has not eaten from it — |
| 18 | for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow — |
| 19 | if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering, |
| 20 | whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; |
| 21 | if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at the gate; |
| 22 | then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. |
| 23 | For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty. |
| 24 | “If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; |
| 25 | if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much; |
| 26 | if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, |
| 27 | and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand; |
| 28 | this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above. |
| 29 | “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them — |
| 30 | I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse — |
| 31 | if those of my tent ever said, ‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’ — |
| 32 | the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler — |
| 33 | if I have concealed my transgressions as others do, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, |
| 34 | because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors — |
| 35 | O that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!) O that I had the indictment written by my adversary! |
| 36 | Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me like a crown; |
| 37 | I would give him an account of all my steps; like a prince I would approach him. |
| 38 | “If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together; |
| 39 | if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners; |
| 40 | let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. |
