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Job Asserts His Integrity
“I have made a covenant (agreement) with my aeyes;How then could I gaze lustfully at a virgin?2 “For what is the aportion I would have from God above,And what heritage from the Almighty on high?3 “Does not atragedy fall justly on the unjustAnd disaster to bthose who work wickedness?4 “Does not God asee my waysAnd bcount all my steps?
5 “If I have awalked with falsehood,Or if my foot has chased after deceit,6 Oh, let Him aweigh me with accurate scales,And let God know bmy integrity.7 “If my step has aturned away from the way of God,Or if my heart has covetously followed my eyes,Or if any bspot of guilt has stained my hands,8 Then let me aplant and let another eat from the results of my labor,And let bmy crops be uprooted and ruined.
9 “If my heart has been aenticed and I was made a fool by a woman,Or if I have covetously lurked at my neighbor’s door until his departure,10 Let my wife agrind meal, like a bond slave for another man,And let bothers 1kneel down over her.11 “For adultery is a aheinous and lustful crime;Moreover, it would be ba sin punishable by the judges. Deut 22:22; John 8:512 “For it is a afire which consumes to bAbaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment) ;And illicit passion would cburn and rage and uproot all my life’s increase destroying everything.
13 “If I have adespised and rejected the claim of my male or female servantsWhen they filed a complaint against me,14 What then could I do when God arises to judge me?When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? Ps 44:2115 “Did not aHe who made me in the womb make my servant,And did not the same One fashion us both in the womb? Prov 14:31; 22:2; Mal 2:10
16 “If I have withheld from athe poor what they desired,Or have caused the eyes of bthe widow to look in vain for relief,17 Or have aeaten my morsel of food alone,And did not share it with bthe orphan18 (But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),19 If I have seen anyone perish afor lack of clothing,Or any bpoor person without covering,20 If his loins have not thanked and blessed me for clothing them,And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,21 If I have lifted my hand against athe orphan,Because I saw that the judges would be my help bat the council gate,22 Then let my shoulder fall away from its socket,And my aarm be broken off at the elbow.23 “For atragedy from God is a terror to me,And because of bHis majesty and exaltation I can do nothing nor endure facing Him. Is 13:6; Joel 1:15
24 “If I have put my trust and confidence in agold,Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,25 If I agloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great,And because my powerful hand alone had obtained so much,26 If I abeheld the sun as an object of worship when it shoneOr the moon going in its splendor,27 And my heart became secretly enticed by them,And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth in respect to them,28 This also would have been a heinous asin calling for judgment,For I would have bdenied God above. Deut 4:19; 17:2-7
29 “Have I arejoiced at the destruction of the enemy who hated me,Or exulted in malicious triumph when evil overtook him?30 “No, aI have not allowed my mouth to sinBy bcursing my enemy and asking for his life.31 “I assure you, the men of my tent have said,‘Who can find one in need who has not been asatisfied with his meat’?32 “The stranger has not lodged in the street,Because I have opened my door to the traveler.33 “Have I aconcealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men,By hiding my wickedness in my bosom,34 Because I afeared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?35 “Oh, that I had one to listen to me!Look, here is my signature (mark) ;aLet the Almighty answer me!Let my badversary write out His indictment and put His vague accusations in tangible form.36 “Surely I would proudly bear it on my shoulder,And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.37 “I would count out to Him athe number of my steps with every detail of my life,Approaching His presence as if I were a bprince.
38 “For if my aland has cried out against me,And its furrows weep together;39 If I have aeaten its fruits without paying for them,Or have bcaused its rightful owners to lose their lives,40 Let athorns grow instead of wheat,And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley.”So the words of Job with his friends are finished.