Job 31

New International Reader's Version

31 “I made an agreement with my eyes.
    I promised not to look at a young woman with impure thoughts.
² What do we receive from God above?
    What do we get from the Mighty One in heaven?
³ Sinful people are destroyed.
    Trouble comes to those who do what is wrong.
⁴ Doesn’t God see how I live?
    Doesn’t he count every step I take?

⁵ “I haven’t told any lies.
    My feet haven’t hurried to cheat others.
⁶ So let God weigh me in honest scales.
    Then he’ll know I haven’t done anything wrong.
⁷ Suppose my steps have turned away from the right path.
    Suppose my heart has wanted what my eyes have seen.
    Or suppose my hands have become ‘unclean.’
⁸ Then may others eat what I’ve planted.
    May my crops be pulled up by the roots.

⁹ “Suppose my heart has been tempted by a woman.
    Or suppose I’ve prowled around my neighbor’s home.
¹⁰ Then may my wife grind another man’s grain.
    May other men sleep with her.
¹¹ Wanting another woman would have been an evil thing.
    It would have been a sin that should be judged.
¹² It’s like a fire that burns down to the grave.
    It would have caused my crops to be pulled up by the roots.

¹³ “Suppose I haven’t treated any of my male and female servants fairly
    when they’ve brought charges against me.
¹⁴ Then what will I do when God opposes me?
    What answer will I give him
    when he asks me to explain myself?
¹⁵ Didn’t he who made me make my servants also?
    Didn’t the same God form us inside our mothers?

¹⁶ “I haven’t said no to what poor people have wanted.
    I haven’t let widows lose their hope.
¹⁷ I haven’t kept my bread to myself.
    I’ve shared it with children whose fathers had died.
¹⁸ From the time I was young, I’ve helped those widows.
    I’ve raised those children as a father would.
¹⁹ Suppose I’ve seen people dying
    because they didn’t have enough clothes.
I’ve seen needy people
    who didn’t have enough to keep warm.
²⁰ And they didn’t give me their blessing
    when I warmed them with wool from my sheep.
²¹ Suppose I’ve raised my hand
    against children whose fathers have died.
And I did it because I knew
    I had power in the courts.
²² Then let my arm fall from my shoulder.
    Let it be broken off at the joint.
²³ I was afraid God would destroy me.
    His glory terrifies me.
    So I’d never do things like that.

²⁴ “Suppose I’ve put my trust in gold.
    I’ve said to pure gold, ‘You make me feel secure.’
²⁵ And I’m happy because I’m so wealthy.
    I’m glad because my hands have earned so much.
²⁶ Suppose I’ve worshiped the sun in all its glory.
    I’ve bowed down to the moon in all its beauty.
²⁷ My heart has been secretly tempted.
    My hand has thrown kisses to the sun and moon.
²⁸ Then these things would have been sins that should be judged.
    And I wouldn’t have been faithful to God in heaven.

²⁹ “I wasn’t happy when hard times came to my enemies.
    I didn’t enjoy seeing the trouble they had.
³⁰ I didn’t allow my mouth to sin
    by asking for bad things to happen to them.
³¹ The workers in my house always said,
    ‘Job always gives plenty of food to everyone.’
³² No stranger ever had to spend the night in the street.
    My door was always open to travelers.
³³ I didn’t hide my sin as other people do.
    I didn’t hide my guilt in my heart.
³⁴ I was never afraid of the crowd.
    I never worried that my relatives might hate me.
    I didn’t have to keep quiet or stay inside.

³⁵ “I wish someone would listen to me!
    I’m signing my name to everything I’ve said.
I hope the Mighty One will give me his answer.
    I hope the one who brings charges against me will write them down.
³⁶ I’ll wear them on my shoulder.
    I’ll put them on my head like a crown.
³⁷ I’ll give that person a report of every step I take.
    I’ll present it to him like I would to a ruler.

³⁸ “Suppose my land cries out against me.
    And all its soil is wet with tears.
³⁹ Suppose I’ve used up its crops without paying for them.
    Or I’ve broken the spirit of its renters.
⁴⁰ Then let thorns grow instead of wheat.
    Let stinkweed come up instead of barley.”