Job 31

English Standard Version

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
⁶ (Let me be ^(F)weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
⁷ if my step has turned aside from the way
    and ^(G)my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any ^(H)spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ then let me ^(I)sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me^[a] be rooted out.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have ^(J)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
¹⁰ then let my wife ^(K)grind for another,
    and let others ^(L)bow down on her.
¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity ^(M)to be punished by the judges;
¹² for that would be a fire ^(N)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

¹³ “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
¹⁴ what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he ^(O)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
¹⁵ Did ^(P)not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have ^(Q)withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have ^(R)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
¹⁸ (for from my youth the fatherless^[b] grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow^[c]),
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone ^(S)perish for ^(T)lack of clothing,
    or the needy without ^(U)covering,
²⁰ if his body has not ^(V)blessed me,^[d]
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against ^(W)the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in ^(X)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 ^(Y)in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his ^(Z)majesty.

^24 (AA)“If I have made gold my ^(AB)trust
    or called ^(AC)fine gold my confidence,
²⁵ if I have ^(AD)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because ^(AE)my hand had found much,
^26 (AF)if I have looked at the sun^[e] when it shone,
    or ^(AG)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 ^(AH)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

²⁹ “If I have ^(AI)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
³⁰ (^(AJ)I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
³¹ if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his ^(AK)meat?’
³² (^(AL)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
³³ if I ^(AM)have concealed my transgressions ^(AN)as others do^[f]
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
³⁴ because I stood in great fear of ^(AO)the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
³⁵ Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty ^(AP)answer me!)
    Oh, that I had ^(AQ)the indictment written by my adversary!
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my ^(AR)shoulder;
    I would ^(AS)bind it on me as ^(AT)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 (AU)if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners ^(AV)breathe their last,
⁴⁰ let ^(AW)thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley.”