Job 31

Job Declares His Purity

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.

2 For what is my portion from God above, my heritage from the Almighty on high,

3 Is it not disaster for the wicked, misfortune for those who do wrong,

4 Does He not see my ways and count all my steps,

If I Have Walked in Falsehood

5 If I walked with lies or my foot hurried after deceit.

6 Let God weigh me in honest scales, He will know my integrity.

7 If my steps turned from the way, my heart chased after my eyes, or my hands got dirty,

8 Then let others eat what I planted, let my crops be uprooted.

If I Have Fallen Into Sexual Sin

9 If my heart was led by another woman, or I lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10 Then let my wife grind grain for another, and let other men sleep with her.

11 That would be shameful, a sin to be judged.

12 It is a fire that burns down to destruction, consuming everything I own.

If I Have Denied Justice

13 If I denied justice to my servants when they had a complaint against me,

14 What will I do when God confronts me, What will I answer when He calls me out,

15 Did not the same God who made me in the womb make them too, Did He not form us both the same way,

If I Have Ignored the Poor

16 If I kept the poor from getting what they needed, or made a widow’s eyes run with tears,

17 If I kept my bread to myself instead of sharing it with the orphan.

18 No, from my youth I raised orphans like a father, and from birth I guided the widow.

19 If I saw anyone dying for lack of clothes, or the needy with nothing to cover them,

20 And they did not bless me while warming themselves with wool from my sheep.

21 If I raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing I had influence in court,

22 Then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.

23 For I feared destruction from God, and His majesty kept me from doing such things.

If I Put My Trust in Wealth

24 If I put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’

25 If I gloated because I had great wealth, the most my hands ever gained.

26 If I admired the sun in its brightness or the moon moving in splendor,

27 So that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw them a kiss.

28 Then these also would be sins to be judged, because I would have been unfaithful to God above.

If I Rejoiced Over My Enemy’s Trouble

29 If I ever rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated when disaster hit him.

30 I did not even let my mouth sin by calling down a curse on his life.

If I Failed to Show Hospitality

31 The people of my household always said, ‘Who has not had their fill of Job’s food,’

32 The foreigner never had to sleep in the street; my door was always open to the traveler.

If I Hid My Sin

33 If I concealed my sin as people do, hiding my guilt in my heart

34 Because I feared the crowd and dreaded the contempt of families, so I stayed quiet inside my house.

Job’s Final Cry

35 Oh, that I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser write his charges.

36 I would carry it on my shoulder, wear it like a crown.

37 I would give Him an account of my every step; I would approach Him like a prince.

The Curse on Injustice

38 If my land cries out against me and all its furrows weep,

39 If I ate its produce without paying or broke the spirit of its tenants,

40 Then let thorns grow instead of wheat, weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words ended here.