Parallel Bible results for "job 31"

Job 31

The Message Bible MSG

1 "I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes.

2 So what can I expect from God? What do I deserve from God Almighty above?

3 Isn't calamity reserved for the wicked? Isn't disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong?

4 Isn't God looking, observing how I live? Doesn't he mark every step I take?

5 "Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood, or hung out in the company of deceit?

6 Weigh me on a set of honest scales so God has proof of my integrity.

7 If I've strayed off the straight and narrow, wanted things I had no right to, messed around with sin,

8 Go ahead, then - give my portion to someone who deserves it.

9 "If I've let myself be seduced by a woman and conspired to go to bed with her,

10 Fine, my wife has every right to go ahead and sleep with anyone she wants to.

11 For disgusting behavior like that, I'd deserve the worst punishment you could hand out.

12 Adultery is a fire that burns the house down; I wouldn't expect anything I count dear to survive it.

13 "Have I ever been unfair to my employees when they brought a complaint to me?

14 What, then, will I do when God confronts me? When God examines my books, what can I say?

15 Didn't the same God who made me, make them? Aren't we all made of the same stuff, equals before God?

16 "Have I ignored the needs of the poor, turned my back on the indigent,

17 Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face while they languished?

18 Wasn't my home always open to them? Weren't they always welcome at my table?

19 "Have I ever left a poor family shivering in the cold when they had no warm clothes?

20 Didn't the poor bless me when they saw me coming, knowing I'd brought coats from my closet?

21 "If I've ever used my strength and influence to take advantage of the unfortunate,

22 Go ahead, break both my arms, cut off all my fingers!

23 The fear of God has kept me from these things - how else could I ever face him? If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing!

24 "Did I set my heart on making big money or worship at the bank?

25 Did I boast about my wealth, show off because I was well-off?

26 Was I ever so awed by the sun's brilliance and moved by the moon's beauty

27 That I let myself become seduced by them and worshiped them on the sly?

28 If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments, for I would be betraying God himself.

29 "Did I ever crow over my enemy's ruin? Or gloat over my rival's bad luck?

30 No, I never said a word of detraction, never cursed them, even under my breath.

31 "Didn't those who worked for me say, 'He fed us well. There were always second helpings'?

32 And no stranger ever had to spend a night in the street; my doors were always open to travelers.

33 Did I hide my sin the way Adam did, or conceal my guilt behind closed doors

34 Because I was afraid what people would say, fearing the gossip of the neighbors so much That I turned myself into a recluse? You know good and well that I didn't.

35 "Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing! I've signed my name to my defense - let the Almighty One answer! I want to see my indictment in writing.

36 Anyone's welcome to read my defense; I'll write it on a poster and carry it around town.

37 I'm prepared to account for every move I've ever made - to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper.

38 "If the very ground that I farm accuses me, if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse,

39 If I've ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners,

40 Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat, curse it with weeds instead of barley." The words of Job to his three friends were finished. Elihu Speaks

New Living Translation NLT

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman.

2 For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?

3 Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil?

4 Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take?

5 “Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone?

6 Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity.

7 If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin,

8 then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,

10 then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her.

11 For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.

12 It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.

13 “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me,

14 how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me?

15 For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb.

16 “Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows?

17 Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans?

18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows.

19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear,

20 did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side,

22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket!

23 That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

24 “Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?

25 Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own?

26 “Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway,

27 and been secretly enticed in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship?

28 If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.

29 “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way?

30 No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge.

31 “My servants have never said, ‘He let others go hungry.’

32 I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone.

33 “Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart?

34 Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

35 “If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.

36 I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown.

37 For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince.

38 “If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together,

39 or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners,

40 then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended.