GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 "I have made an agreement with my eyes. Then how can I look with lust at a virgin?
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"I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
2 What would God above do [to me]? What would be my inheritance from the Almighty on high?
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For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Aren't there catastrophes for wicked people and disasters for those who do wrong?
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Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 Doesn't he see my ways and count all my steps?
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Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?
5 "If I have walked with lies or my feet have run after deception,
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"If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 [then] let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will know I have integrity.
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Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity.
7 "If my steps have left the [proper] path, or my heart has followed [the desire of] my eyes, or my hands are stained [with sin],
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If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8 [then] let someone else eat what I have planted, and let my crops be uprooted.
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Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.
9 "If I have been seduced by a woman or I have secretly waited near my neighbor's door,
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"If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,
10 [then] let my wife grind for another [man], and let other [men] kneel over her.
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Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.
11 That would be a scandal, and that would be a criminal offense.
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For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12 It would be a fire that burns even in Abaddon. It would uproot my entire harvest.
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For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.
13 "If I have abused the rights of my servants, male or female, when they have disagreed with me,
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"If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,
14 then what could I do if God rises up? If he examines me, how could I answer him?
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What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15 Didn't he who made me in my mother's belly make them? Didn't the same God form us in the womb?
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Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16 "If I have refused the requests of the poor or made a widow's eyes stop [looking for help],
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"If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my food alone without letting the orphan eat any of it....
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Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (From my youth the orphan grew up with me as though I were his father, and from my birth I treated the widow kindly.)
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(But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother's womb I guided the widow);
19 If I have seen anyone die because he had no clothes or a poor person going naked....
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If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;
20 (If his body didn't bless me, or the wool from my sheep didn't keep him warm....)
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If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have shaken my fist at an orphan because I knew that others would back me up in court,
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If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;
22 [then] let my shoulder fall out of its socket, and let my arm be broken at the elbow.
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Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23 "A disaster from God terrifies me. In the presence of his majesty I can do nothing.
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For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
24 "If I put my confidence in gold or said to fine gold, 'I trust you'....
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"If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, 'You are my confidence';
25 If I enjoyed being very rich because my hand had found great [wealth]....
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If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much;
26 If I saw the light shine or the moon move along in its splendor
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If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
27 so that my heart was secretly tempted, and I threw them a kiss with my hand,
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So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 then that, too, would be a criminal offense, and I would have denied God above.
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This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.
29 "If I enjoyed the ruin of my enemy or celebrated when harm came to him
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"If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him
30 (even though I didn't speak sinfully by calling down a curse on his life)....
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(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);
31 "If the people who were in my tent had said, 'We wish we had never filled [our stomachs] with his food'....
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If the men of my tent have not said, 'Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?'
32 (The visitor never spent the night outside, because I opened my door to the traveler.)
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(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 "If I have covered my disobedience like Adam and kept my sin to myself,
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If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 because I dreaded the large, noisy crowd and because the contempt of the [local] mobs terrified me so that I kept quiet and didn't go outside....
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Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door--
35 "If only I had someone who would listen to me! Look, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me. Let the prosecutor write [his complaint] on a scroll.
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Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book!
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder and place it on my head like a crown.
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Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown;
37 I would tell him the number of my steps and approach him like a prince.
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I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.
38 "If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept ....
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"If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have eaten its produce without paying for it and made its owners breathe their last,
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If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;
40 [then] let it grow thistles instead of wheat, and foul-smelling weeds instead of barley." This is the end of Job's words.
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Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.