Job 31-33

New King James Version

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
^6 [b]Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my ^(D)integrity.
⁷ If my step has turned from the way,
Or ^(E)my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
⁸ Then ^(F)let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be ^[c]rooted out.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰ Then let my wife grind for ^(G)another,
And let others bow down over her.
¹¹ For that would be wickedness;
Yes, ^(H)it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
¹² For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.

¹³ “If I have ^(I)despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,
¹⁴ What then shall I do when ^(J)God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
^15 (K)Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to ^(L)fail,
¹⁷ Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
¹⁸ (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided ^[d]the widow);
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
²⁰ If his ^[e]heart has not ^(M)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
²¹ If I have raised my hand ^(N)against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
²² Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.
²³ For ^(O)destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

²⁴ “If^(P) I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
^25 (Q)If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gained much;
^26 (R)If I have observed the ^[f]sun when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,
²⁷ So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;
²⁸ This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.

²⁹ “If^(S) I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him
^30 (T)(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his ^[g]soul);
³¹ If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
^32 (U)(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the ^[h]traveler);
³³ If I have covered my transgressions ^(V)as^[i] Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
³⁴ Because I feared the great ^(W)multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—
^35 (X)Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, ^(Y)that the Almighty would answer me,
That my ^[j]Prosecutor had written a book!
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;
³⁷ I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

³⁸ “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
³⁹ If ^(Z)I have eaten its ^[k]fruit without money,
Or ^(AA)caused its owners to lose their lives;
⁴⁰ Then let ^(AB)thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”

“I am ^(AF)young in years, and you are very old;
Therefore I was afraid,
And dared not declare my opinion to you.
⁷ I said, ^[m]‘Age should speak,
And multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
⁸ But there is a spirit in man,
And ^(AG)the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
^9 (AH)Great^[n] men are not always wise,
Nor do the aged always understand justice.

¹⁰ “Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me,
I also will declare my opinion.’
¹¹ Indeed I waited for your words,
I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.
¹² I paid close attention to you;
And surely not one of you convinced Job,
Or answered his words—
^13 (AI)Lest you say,
‘We have found wisdom’;
God will vanquish him, not man.
¹⁴ Now he has not ^[o]directed his words against me;
So I will not answer him with your words.

¹⁵ “They are dismayed and answer no more;
Words escape them.
¹⁶ And I have waited, because they did not speak,
Because they stood still and answered no more.
¹⁷ I also will answer my part,
I too will declare my opinion.
¹⁸ For I am full of words;
The spirit within me compels me.
¹⁹ Indeed my ^[p]belly is like wine that has no ^[q]vent;
It is ready to burst like new wineskins.
²⁰ I will speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
²¹ Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone;
Nor let me flatter any man.
²² For I do not know how to flatter,
Else my Maker would soon take me ^(AJ)away.

⁸ “Surely you have spoken ^[s]in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
⁹ ‘I^(AN) am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
¹⁰ Yet He finds occasions against me,
^(AO)He counts me as His enemy;
^11 (AP)He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’

¹² “Look, in this you are not righteous.
I will answer you,
For God is greater than man.
¹³ Why do you ^(AQ)contend with Him?
For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
^14 (AR)For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
^15 (AS)In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
^16 (AT)Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
¹⁷ In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
¹⁸ He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from ^[t]perishing by the sword.

¹⁹ “Man is also chastened with pain on his ^(AU)bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
^20 (AV)So that his life abhors ^(AW)bread,
And his soul ^[u]succulent food.
²¹ His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
²² Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.

²³ “If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
²⁴ Then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found ^[v]a ransom’;
²⁵ His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
²⁶ He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness.
²⁷ Then he looks at men and ^(AX)says,
‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right,
And it ^(AY)did not profit me.’
²⁸ He will ^(AZ)redeem ^[w]his soul from going down to the Pit,
And his life shall see the light.

²⁹ “Behold, God works all these things,
Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
^30 (BA)To bring back his soul from the Pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹ “Give ear, Job, listen to me;
Hold your peace, and I will speak.
³² If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
³³ If not, ^(BB)listen to me;
^[x]Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”