Read Amplified Bible, 2015 Job 31 Bible Online

Job 31 - Amplified Bible, 2015 bible

Job 31

¹"I have made a covenant (agreement) with my eyes; How then could I gaze [lustfully] at a virgin?

²"For what is the portion I would have from God above, And what heritage from the Almighty on high?

³"Does not tragedy fall [justly] on the unjust And disaster to those who work wickedness?

⁴"Does not God see my ways And count all my steps?

⁵"If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has chased after deceit,

⁶Oh, let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.

⁷"If my step has turned away from the way [of God], Or if my heart has [covetously] followed my eyes, Or if any spot [of guilt] has stained my hands,

⁸Then let me plant and [let] another eat [from the results of my labor], And let my crops be uprooted and ruined.

⁹"If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman, Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor's door [until his departure],

¹⁰Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man], And let others[1] kneel down over her.

¹¹"For adultery is a heinous and lustful crime; Moreover, it would be a sin punishable by the judges.

¹²"For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment); And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life's] increase [destroying everything].

¹³"If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants When they filed a complaint against me,

¹⁴What then could I do when God arises [to judge me]? When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

¹⁵"Did not He who made me in the womb make my servant, And did not the same One fashion us both in the womb?

¹⁶"If I have withheld from the poor what they desired, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel [of food] alone, And did not share it with the orphan

¹⁸(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father, And from my mother's womb I have been the widow's guide),

¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor person without covering,

²⁰If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them], And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

²¹If I have lifted my hand against the orphan, Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

²²Then let my shoulder fall away from its socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

²³"For tragedy from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

²⁴"If I have put my trust and confidence in gold, Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

²⁵If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

²⁶If I beheld the sun [as an object of worship] when it shone Or the moon going in its splendor,

²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed [by them], And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth [in respect to them],

²⁸This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.

²⁹"Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me], Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

³⁰"No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

³¹"I assure you, the men of my tent have said, 'Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat'?

³²"The stranger has not lodged in the street, Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

³³"Have I concealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men, By hiding my wickedness in my bosom,

³⁴Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

³⁵"Oh, that I had one to listen to me! Look, here is my signature (mark); Let the Almighty answer me! Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form].

³⁶"Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder, And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.

³⁷"I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life], Approaching His presence as if I were a prince.

³⁸"For if my land has cried out against me, And its furrows weep together;

³⁹If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them, Or have caused its [rightful] owners to lose their lives,

⁴⁰Let thorns grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley." So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.