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 he not see my ways, and number all my steps?
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31:5 |
"If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried 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 followed my eyes, and if any spot has clung 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 by 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 other men kneel over her.
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31:11 |
For that would be a heinous crime; that would be a criminal offense;
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31:12 |
for that would be a fire consuming down to Abaddon, and it would burn to the root all my harvest.
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31:13 |
"If I have rejected the cause of my male or female slaves, 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 them? 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 orphan has not eaten from it--
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31:18 |
for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow--
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31:19 |
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering,
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31:20 |
whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
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31:21 |
if I have raised my hand against the orphan, because I saw I had supporters at 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 those who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook them--
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31:30 |
I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse--
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31:31 |
if those of my tent ever said, 'O that we might be sated with his flesh!'--
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31:32 |
the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler--
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31:33 |
if I have concealed my transgressions as others do, 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 like 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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