31:1 I Made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I think
upon a maid?
31:2 For what portion of God [is there] from above? and [what]
inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
31:3 [Is] not destruction to the wicked? and a strange
[punishment] to the workers of iniquity?
31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
31:5 If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to
deceit;
31:6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my
integrity.
31:7 If my step hath turned out of the way, and my heart walked
after my eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to my hands;
31:8 [Then] let me sow, and let another eat; yes, let my
offspring be rooted out.
31:9 If my heart hath been deceived by a woman, or [if] I have
laid wait at my neighbor's door;
31:10 [Then] let my wife grind to another, and let others bow
down upon her.
31:11 For this [is] a hainous crime; yea, it [is] an iniquity
[to be punished by] the judges.
31:12 For it [is] a fire [that] consumeth to destruction, and
would root out all my increase.
31:13 If I despised the cause of my man-servant or of my
maid-servant, when they contended with me;
31:14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he
visiteth, what shall I answer him?
31:15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not
one fashion us in the womb?
31:16 If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, or have
caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
31:17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless
hath not eaten of it;
31:18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as [with] a
father, and I have guided her from my mother's womb;)
31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any
poor without covering;
31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, and [if] he hath not
been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
31:21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I
saw my help in the gate:
31:22 [Then] let my arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and my arm
be broken from the bone.
31:23 For destruction [from] God [was] a terror to me, and by
reason of his highness I could not endure.
31:24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine
gold, [Thou art] my confidence;
31:25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth [was] great, and
because my hand had gained much;
31:26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon
walking [in] brightness;
31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath
kissed my hand:
31:28 This also [were] an iniquity [to be punished by] the
judge: for I should have denied the God [that is] above.
31:29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated
me, or have lifted up myself when evil found him:
31:30 Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse
to his soul.
31:31 If the men of my tabernacle have not said, Oh that we had
of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.
31:32 The stranger did not lodge in the street: [but] I opened
my doors to the traveler.
31:33 If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my
iniquity in my bosom:
31:34 Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of
families terrify me, that I kept silence, [and] went not out of
the door?
31:35 Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire [is], [that]
the Almighty would answer me, and [that] my adversary had
written a book.
31:36 Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, [and] bind it
[as] a crown to me.
31:37 I would declare to him the number of my steps; as a prince
would I go near to him.
31:38 If my land crieth against me, or its furrows likewise
complain;
31:39 If I have eaten the fruits of it without money, or have
caused its owners to lose their life:
31:40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of
barley. The words of Job are ended.
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