31:1  “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?

31:2  For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

31:3  Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

31:4  Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?

31:5  “If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

31:6  Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my integrity.

31:7  If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

31:8  Then let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

31:9  “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

31:10  Then let my wife grind for another,
And let others bow down over her.

31:11  For that would be wickedness;
Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

31:12  For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.

31:13  “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,

31:14  What then shall I do when God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

31:15  Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

31:16  “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

31:17  Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it

31:18  (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);

31:19  If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;

31:20  If his heart has not blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

31:21  If I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;

31:22  Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.

31:23  For destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

31:24  “If I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

31:25  If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gained much;

31:26  If I have observed the sun when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,

31:27  So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;

31:28  This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.

31:29  “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him

31:30  (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his soul);

31:31  If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

31:32  (But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler);

31:33  If I have covered my transgressions as Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

31:34  Because I feared the great multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—

31:35  Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, that the Almighty would answer me,
That my Prosecutor had written a book!

31:36  Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;

31:37  I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

31:38  “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

31:39  If I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

31:40  Then let thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.