Job 31
Job’s Final Defense Continued
1
"I made a covenant with my eyes, so how could I look closely upon a virgin?
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And what [is] the portion of God from above or the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
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Is not disaster for [the] evil one and ruin for [the] workers of mischief?
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Does he not see my ways and count all my steps?
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"If I have walked with falseness, and my foot has hastened to deceit,
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let him weigh me in [the] balance of justice, and let God know my blamelessness.
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If my steps have turned aside from the way, and my heart has walked after my eyes, and my hand has clung to a spot,
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let me sow, and let another eat, and let my crops be rooted out.
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"If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and at my neighbor's doorway I have lain in wait,
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let my wife grind for another, and let other [men] kneel over her,
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for that [is] a shameful act, and that [is] {a criminal offense}.
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Indeed, that [is] a fire that will consume up to Abaddon, and it would uproot all my crop.
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"If I have rejected my male or female slave's case when their complaint [was] against me,
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then what shall I do when God rises up? And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
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Did not he [who] made me in the womb make them? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
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"If I have withheld [the] desire of [the] poor from [them], or I have caused [the] widow's eyes to fail,
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or I have eaten my morsel {alone}, and [the] orphan has not eaten from it
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(for from my childhood he {grew up with} me like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided her),
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if I have seen [the one who] perishes because of no clothing or [that] there is no covering for the poor,
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if his loins have not blessed me, or by means of my sheep's fleece he has warmed himself,
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if I have raised my hand against an orphan because I saw my supporters at the gate,
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[then] let my shoulder blade fall from [my] shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.
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Indeed, the disaster from God [was] a dread for me, and {I was powerless} because of his majesty.
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"If I have made gold my trust, or I have called fine gold my security,
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if I have rejoiced because my wealth [was] great or because my hand found a fortune,
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if I looked at [the] sun when it shone or [at the] moon moving [in] splendor,
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and {I was secretly enticed}, and {my hand threw them a kiss},
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this also [is] an iniquity [to be] judged, for I have deceived God above.
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"If I have rejoiced at [the] ruin of [the one who] hated me or have exulted when evil overtook him--
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no, I have not allowed my mouth to sin, to ask his life with a curse.
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{Have the people of my tent not said}, '{O that} someone had not been satisfied with his meat'?
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An alien has not lodged in the street; I have opened my door to the traveler.
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{Have I concealed} my transgressions as [other] human beings to hide my iniquity in my bosom
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because I dreaded [the] great multitude, and [the] contempt of clans terrified me, so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of [the] doorway?
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{O that} {I had} someone hearing me! Here is my signature; let Shaddai answer me! {As for} [the] written communication [that] {my adversary} has written,
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I would {surely} carry it on my shoulder; I would bind it on me [like] a crown.
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I would give him an account of my steps; I would approach him like a noble.
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If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together,
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if I have eaten its yield without payment, or I have caused [the] breath of its owners to die,
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let thorns grow in place of wheat and noxious weeds in place of barley." The words of Job are ended.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.
(Lexham English Bible)
