Verse 1
I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?
Verse 2
For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
Verse 3
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
Verse 4
Doth not he see my ways, And number all my steps?
Verse 5
If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot hath hasted to deceit
Verse 6
(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity);
Verse 7
If my step hath turned out of the way, And my heart walked after mine eyes, And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
Verse 8
Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
Verse 9
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
Verse 10
Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.
Verse 11
For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
Verse 12
For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.
Verse 13
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
Verse 14
What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Verse 15
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
Verse 16
If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
Verse 17
Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
Verse 18
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
Verse 19
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
Verse 20
If his loins have not blessed me, And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
Verse 21
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:
Verse 22
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.
Verse 23
For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
Verse 24
If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;
Verse 25
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;
Verse 26
If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,
Verse 27
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And my mouth hath kissed my hand:
Verse 28
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above.
Verse 29
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him;
Verse 30
(Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);
Verse 31
If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
Verse 32
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveller);
Verse 33
If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
Verse 34
Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door--
Verse 35
Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); And [that I had] the indictment which mine adversary hath written!
Verse 36
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown:
Verse 37
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him.
Verse 38
If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;
Verse 39
If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
Verse 40
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.