Job 31
31
1“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a #(Matt. 5:28)young woman?
2For what is the #Job 20:29allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4#(2 Chr. 16:9); Job 24:23; 28:24; 34:21; 36:7; (Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 32:19)Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?
5“If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
6Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my #Job 23:10; 27:5, 6integrity.
7If my step has turned from the way,
Or #Num. 15:39; (Eccl. 11:9); Ezek. 6:9; (Matt. 5:29)my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8Then #Lev. 26:16; Deut. 28:30, 38; Job 20:18; Mic. 6:15let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.
9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10Then let my wife grind for #Deut. 28:30; 2 Sam. 12:11; Jer. 8:10another,
And let others bow down over her.
11For that would be wickedness;
Yes, #Gen. 38:24; (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22); Job 31:28it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.
13“If I have #(Deut. 24:14, 15)despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,
14What then shall I do when #(Ps. 44:21)God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15#Job 34:19; Prov. 14:31; 22:2; (Mal. 2:10)Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16“If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to #Job 29:12fail,
17Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18(But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);
19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;
20If his heart has not #(Deut. 24:13)blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21If I have raised my hand #Job 22:9against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;
22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23For #Is. 13:6destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
24“If#(Matt. 6:19, 20; Mark 10:23–25) I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
25#Job 1:3, 10; Ps. 62:10If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gained much;
26#(Deut. 4:19; 17:3); Ezek. 8:16If I have observed the sun when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,
27So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.
29“If#(Prov. 17:5; 24:17); Obad. 12 I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
Or lifted myself up when evil found him
30#(Matt. 5:44)(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his soul);
31If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
32#Gen. 19:2, 3(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33If I have covered my transgressions #Gen. 3:10; (Prov. 28:13)as Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34Because I feared the great #Ex. 23:2multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—
35#Job 19:7; 30:20, 24, 28Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, #Job 13:22, 24; 33:10that the Almighty would answer me,
That my Prosecutor had written a book!
36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;
37I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.
38“If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39If #Job 24:6, 10–12; (James 5:4)I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or #1 Kin. 21:19caused its owners to lose their lives;
40Then let #Gen. 3:18thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Currently Selected:
Job 31: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.