31:8 then let me sow 1 and let another eat,
and let my crops 2 be uprooted.
31:9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door, 3
31:10 then let my wife turn the millstone 4 for another man,
and may other men have sexual relations with her. 5
31:11 For I would have committed 6 a shameful act, 7
an iniquity to be judged. 8
31:12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, 9
and it would uproot 10 all my harvest.
31:13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed 11 with me,
31:14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; 12
when he intervenes, 13
how will I respond to him?
31:15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? 14
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
31:16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, 15
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
31:17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans 16 –
31:18 but from my youth I raised the orphan 17 like a father,
and from my mother’s womb 18
I guided the widow! 19
31:19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
31:20 whose heart did not bless me 20
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, 21
31:21 if I have raised my hand 22 to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court, 23
31:22 then 24 let my arm fall from the shoulder, 25
let my arm be broken off at the socket. 26
31:23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me, 27
and by reason of his majesty 28 I was powerless.
31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to pure gold,
‘You are my security!’
31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
31:26 if I looked at the sun 29 when it was shining,
and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
31:27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, 30
31:28 then this 31 also would be iniquity to be judged, 32
for I would have been false 33 to God above.
31:29 If 34 I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy 35
or exulted 36 because calamity 37 found him –
31:30 I 38 have not even permitted my mouth 39 to sin
by asking 40 for his life through a curse –
31:31 if 41 the members of my household 42 have never said, 43
‘If only there were 44 someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s 45 meat!’ –
31:32 But 46 no stranger had to spend the night outside,
for I opened my doors to the traveler 47 –
31:33 if 48 I have covered my transgressions as men do, 49
by hiding 50 iniquity in my heart, 51
31:34 because I was terrified 52 of the great multitude, 53
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I remained silent
and would not go outdoors – 54
31:35 “If only I had 55 someone to hear me!
Here is my signature – 56
let the Almighty answer me!
If only I had an indictment 57
that my accuser had written. 58
31:36 Surely 59 I would wear it proudly 60 on my shoulder,
I would bind 61 it on me like a crown;
31:37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
31:38 “If my land cried out against me 63
and all its furrows wept together,
31:39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, 64
or caused the death 65 of its owners, 66
31:40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,
and in place of barley, weeds!” 67
The words of Job are ended.