Job 31

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 I reached an agreement with my eyes, that I would not so much as think about a virgin.	1 If I have made an agreement with my eyes and entertained any thoughts against a maiden;
2 For what portion should God from above hold for me, and what inheritance should the Almighty from on high keep?	2 But what is man's lot from God above, his inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not destruction held for the wicked and repudiation kept for those who work injustice?	3 Is it not calamity for the unrighteous, and woe for evildoers?
4 Does he not examine my ways and number all my steps?	4 Does he not see my ways, and number all my steps?
5 If I have walked in vanity, or if my foot has hurried towards deceitfulness,	5 If I have walked in falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 let him weigh me in a just balance, and let God know my simplicity.	6 Let God weigh me in the scales of justice; thus will he know my innocence!
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way, or if my heart has followed my eyes, or if a blemish has clung to my hands,	7 If my steps have turned out of the way, and my heart has followed my eyes, or any stain clings to my hands,
8 then may I sow, and let another consume, and let my offspring be eradicated.	8 Then may I sow, but another eat of it, or may my planting be rooted up!
9 If my heart has been deceived over a woman, or if I have waited in ambush at my friend’s door,	9 If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door;
10 then let my wife be the harlot of another, and let other men lean over her.	10 Then may my wife grind for another, and may others cohabit with her!
11 For this is a crime and a very great injustice.	11 For that would be heinous, a crime to be condemned;
12 It is a fire devouring all the way to perdition, and it roots out all that springs forth.	12 A fire that should burn down to the abyss till it consumed all my possessions to the roots.
13 If I have despised being subject to judgment with my servant or my maid, when they had any complaint against me,	13 Had I refused justice to my manservant or to my maid, when they had a claim against me,
14 then what will I do when God rises to judge, and, when he inquires, how will I respond to him?	14 What then should I do when God rose up; what could I answer when he demanded an account?
15 Is not he who created me in the womb, also he who labored to make him? And did not one and the same form me in the womb?	15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth?
16 If I have denied the poor what they wanted and have made the eyes of the widow wait;	16 If I have denied anything to the poor, or allowed the eyes of the widow to languish
17 if I have eaten my morsel of food alone, while orphans have not eaten from it;	17 While I ate my portion alone, with no share in it for the fatherless,
18 (for from my infancy mercy grew with me, and it came out with me from my mother’s womb;)	18 Though like a father God has reared me from my youth, guiding me even from my mother's womb--
19 if I have looked down on him who was perishing because he had no clothing and the poor without any covering,	19 If I have seen a wanderer without clothing, or a poor man without covering,
20 if his sides have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;	20 Whose limbs have not blessed me when warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 if I have lifted up my hand over an orphan, even when it might seem to me that I the advantage over him at the gate;	21 If I have raised my hand against the innocent because I saw that I had supporters at the gate--
22 then may my shoulder fall from its joint, and may my arm, with all its bones, be broken.	22 Then may my arm fall from the shoulder, my forearm be broken at the elbow!
23 For I have always feared God, like waves flowing over me, whose weight I was unable to bear.	23 For the dread of God will be upon me, and his majesty will overpower me.
24 If I have considered gold to be my strength, or if I have called purified gold ‘my Trust;’	24 Had I put my trust in gold or called fine gold my security;
25 if I have rejoiced over my great success, and over the many things my hand has obtained;	25 Or had I rejoiced that my wealth was great, or that my hand had acquired abundance--
26 if I gazed upon the sun when it shined and the moon advancing brightly,	26 Had I looked upon the sun as it shone, or the moon in the splendor of its progress,
27 so that my heart rejoiced in secret and I kissed my hand with my mouth,	27 And had my heart been secretly enticed to waft them a kiss with my hand;
28 which is a very great iniquity and a denial against the most high God;	28 This too would be a crime for condemnation, for I should have denied God above.
29 if I have been glad at the ruin of him who hated me and have exulted that evil found him,	29 Had I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy or exulted when evil fell upon him,
30 for I have not been given my throat to sin by asking for a curse on his soul;	30 Even though I had not suffered my mouth to sin by uttering a curse against his life--
31 if the men around my tabernacle have not said: “He might give us some of his food, so that we will be filled,”	31 Had not the men of my tent exclaimed, "Who has not been fed with his meat!"
32 for the foreigner did not remain at the door, my door was open to the traveler;	32 Because no stranger lodged in the street, but I opened my door to wayfarers--
33 if, as man does, I have hidden my sin and have concealed my iniquity in my bosom;	33 Had I, out of human weakness, hidden my sins and buried my guilt in my bosom
34 if I became frightened by an excessive crowd, and the disrespect of close relatives alarmed me, so that I would much rather have remained silent or have gone out the door;	34 Because I feared the noisy multitude and the scorn of the tribes terrified me- then I should have remained silent, and not come out of doors!
35 then, would he grant me a hearing, so that the Almighty would listen to my desire, and he who judges would himself write a book,	35 Oh, that I had one to hear my case, and that my accuser would write out his indictment!
36 which I would then carry on my shoulder and wrap around me like a crown?	36 Surely, I should wear it on my shoulder or put it on me like a diadem;
37 With each of my steps, I would pronounce and offer it, as if to a prince.	37 Of all my steps I should give him an account; like a prince I should present myself before him. This is my final plea; let the Almighty answer me! The words of Job are ended.
38 So, if my land cries out against me, and if its furrows weep with it,	38 If my land has cried out against me till its very furrows complained;
39 if I have used its fruits for nothing but money and have afflicted the souls of its tillers,	39 If I have eaten its produce without payment and grieved the hearts of its tenants;
40 then, may thistles spring forth for me instead of grain, and thorns instead of barley. (This ended the words of Job.)	40 Then let the thistles grow instead of wheat and noxious weeds instead of barley!