• 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 lain 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.
  • 29 “If I have been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me, Or exulted when evil found him—
  • 30 “But I have not given over my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse—
  • 31 “If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’—
  • 32 “The sojourner has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler—
  • 33 “If I have covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
  • 34 Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And I kept silent and did not go out of doors—
  • 35 “Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my accuser has written,
  • 36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it to myself 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 I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
  • 40 Let briars come out instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.