Job 31 - NKJV Bible Online

Job 31

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“I have made a covenant with my eyes;

Why then should I ¹look upon a ^ayoung woman?

For what is the ^aallotment of God from above,

And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Is it not destruction for the wicked,

And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

^aDoes He not see my ways,

And count all my steps?

“If I have walked with falsehood,

Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

¹Let me be weighed on honest scales,

That God may know my ^aintegrity.

If my step has turned from the way,

Or ^amy heart walked after my eyes,

Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

Then ^alet me sow, and another eat;

Yes, let my harvest be ¹rooted out.

“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

Then let my wife grind for ^aanother,

And let others bow down over her.

For that would be wickedness;

Yes, ^ait would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,

And would root out all my increase.

“If I have ^adespised the cause of my male or female servant

When they complained against me,

What then shall I do when ^aGod rises up?

When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

^aDid not He who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

“If I have kept the poor from their desire,

Or caused the eyes of the widow to ^afail,

Or eaten my morsel by myself,

So that the fatherless could not eat of it

(But from my youth I reared him as a father,

And from my mother’s womb I guided ¹the widow);

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or any poor man without covering;

If his ¹heart has not ^ablessed me,

And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

If I have raised my hand ^aagainst the fatherless,

When I saw I had help in the gate;

Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,

Let my arm be torn from the socket.

For ^adestruction from God is a terror to me,

And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

“If^a I have made gold my hope,

Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

^aIf I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my hand had gained much;

^aIf I have observed the ¹sun when it shines,

Or the moon moving in brightness,

So that my heart has been secretly enticed,

And my mouth has kissed my hand;

This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,

For I would have denied God who is above.

“If^a I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,

Or lifted myself up when evil found him

^a(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin

By asking for a curse on his ¹soul);

If the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

^a(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,

For I have opened my doors to the ¹traveler);

If I have covered my transgressions ^aas¹ Adam,

By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

Because I feared the great ^amultitude,

And dreaded the contempt of families,

So that I kept silence

And did not go out of the door—

^aOh, that I had one to hear me!

Here is my mark.

Oh, ^bthat the Almighty would answer me,

That my ¹Prosecutor had written a book!

Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,

And bind it on me like a crown;

I would declare to Him the number of my steps;

Like a prince I would approach Him.

“If my land cries out against me,

And its furrows weep together;

If ^aI have eaten its ¹fruit without money,

Or ^bcaused its owners to lose their lives;

Then let ^athistles grow instead of wheat,

And weeds instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

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