| 章 |
| 31:1 |
'I have made a covenant with my eyes;how then could I look upon a virgin?
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| 31:2 |
What would be my portion from God above, and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
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| 31:3 |
Does not calamity befall the unrighteous, and disaster the workers of iniquity?
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| 31:4 |
Does not he see my ways, and number all my steps?
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| 31:5 |
'If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hastened to deceit;
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| 31:6 |
(Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!)
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| 31:7 |
if my step has turned aside from the way, and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has cleaved to my hands;
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| 31:8 |
then let me sow, and another eat;and let what grows for me be rooted out.
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| 31:9 |
'If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door;
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| 31:10 |
then let my wife grind for another, and let others bow down upon her.
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| 31:11 |
For that would be a heinous crime;that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
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| 31:12 |
for that would be a fire which consumes unto Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my increase.
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| 31:13 |
'If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant, when they brought a complaint against me;
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| 31:14 |
what then shall I do when God rises up? When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
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| 31:15 |
Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
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| 31:16 |
'If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
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| 31:17 |
or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
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| 31:18 |
(for from his youth I reared him as a father, and from his mother's womb I guided him);
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| 31:19 |
if I have seen any one perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without covering;
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| 31:20 |
if his loins have not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
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| 31:21 |
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw help in the gate;
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| 31:22 |
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket.
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| 31:23 |
For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty.
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| 31:24 |
'If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence;
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| 31:25 |
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much;
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| 31:26 |
if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor,
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| 31:27 |
and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand;
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| 31:28 |
this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.
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| 31:29 |
'If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him that hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him
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| 31:30 |
(I have not let my mouth sin by asking for his life with a curse);
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| 31:31 |
if the men of my tent have not said, Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?'
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| 31:32 |
(the sojourner has not lodged in the street;I have opened my doors to the wayfarer);
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| 31:33 |
if I have concealed my transgressions from men, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
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| 31:34 |
because I stood in great fear of the multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors --
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| 31:35 |
Oh, that I had one to hear me! (Here is my signature! let the Almighty answer me!) Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!
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| 31:36 |
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;I would bind it on me as a crown;
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| 31:37 |
I would give him an account of all my steps;like a prince I would approach him.
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| 31:38 |
'If my land has cried out against me, and its furrows have wept together;
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| 31:39 |
if I have eaten its yield without payment, and caused the death of its owners;
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| 31:40 |
let thorns grow instead of wheat, and foul weeds instead of barley.' The words of Job are ended.
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