Job 31:1-28 ▼

1 “I have cut a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?

2 And what is the portion of God from above Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

3 Is it not disaster to the unjust And misfortune to those who work iniquity?

4 Does He not see my ways And number all my steps?

5 “If I have walked with worthlessness, And my foot has hastened after deceit,

6 Let Him weigh me with just scales, And let God know my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

8 Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lied in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,

10 May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.

11 For that would be lewdness; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.

12 For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my produce.

13 “If I have rejected the justice of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,

14 What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, with what will I respond to Him?

15 Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?

16 “If I have held back the poor from their desire, 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 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from the womb of my mother I guided her),

19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,

20 If his loins have not blessed me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21 If I have waved my hand against the orphan Because I saw my help in the gate,

22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

23 For disaster from God is a dread to me, And because of His exaltedness I can do nothing.

24 “If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,

25 If I have been glad because my wealth was great, And because my hand had found so much,

26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor,

27 And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

28 That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.