Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
1 I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.
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"I made a covenant with my eyes, How then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
2 What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?
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For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.
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Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4 God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.
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Doesn't he see my ways, And number all my steps?
5 I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.
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"If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hurried to deceit
6 Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.
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(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know my integrity);
7 If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,
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If my step has turned out of the way, If my heart walked after my eyes, If any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.
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Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 If I have been attracted to my neighbor's wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,
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"If my heart has been enticed to a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
10 then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.
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Then let my wife grind for another, And let others sleep with her.
11 Such wickedness should be punished by death.
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For that would be a heinous crime; Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
12 It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.
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For it is a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.
13 When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.
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"If I have despised the cause of my man-servant Or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
14 If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?
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What then shall I do when God rises up? When he visits, what shall I answer him?
15 The same God who created me created my servants also.
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Didn't he who made me in the womb make him? Didn't one fashion us in the womb?
16 I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair
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"If I have withheld the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or let orphans go hungry while I ate.
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Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 All my life I have taken care of them.
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(No, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, Her have I guided from my mother's womb);
19 When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,
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If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
20 I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.
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If his heart hasn't blessed me, If he hasn't been warmed with my sheep's fleece;
21 If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,
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If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:
22 then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.
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Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And my arm be broken from the bone.
23 Because I fear God's punishment, I could never do such a thing.
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For calamity from God is a terror to me, By reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
24 I have never trusted in riches
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"If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, 'You are my confidence;'
25 or taken pride in my wealth.
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If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;
26 I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.
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If I have seen the sun when it shined, Or the moon moving in splendor,
27 I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.
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And my heart has been secretly enticed, My hand threw a kiss from my mouth:
28 Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.
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This also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God who is above.
29 I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;
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"If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him;
30 I never sinned by praying for their death.
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(Yes, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);
31 All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.
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If the men of my tent have not said, 'Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?'
32 I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.
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(The sojourner has not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.
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If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.
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Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and didn't go out of the door--
35 Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,
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Oh that I had one to hear me! (Behold, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); Let the accuser write my indictment!
36 I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.
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Surely I would carry it on my shoulder; And I would bind it to me as a crown.
37 I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.
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I would declare to him the number of my steps. As a prince would I go near to him.
38 If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners -
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If my land cries out against me, And the furrows of it weep together;
39 if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve -
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If I have eaten the fruits of it without money, Or have caused the owners of it to lose their life:
40 then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended.
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Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.