Job 31 · Clearspring

Job’s Final Appeal

¹A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what--do I attend to a virgin?+ ²And what is the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?+ ³Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?+ ⁴Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number?+ ⁵If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit,+ ⁶He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity.+ ⁷If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish,+ ⁸Let me sow--and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.+ ⁹If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait,+ ¹⁰Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.+ ¹¹For it is a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;+ ¹²For a fire it is, to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,+ ¹³If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,+ ¹⁴Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him?+ ¹⁵Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One.+ ¹⁶If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,+ ¹⁷And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,+ ¹⁸(But from my youth He grew up with me as with a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.)+ ¹⁹If I see any perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,+ ²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,+ ²¹If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in him the gate of my court,+ ²²My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken.+ ²³For a dread unto me is calamity from God, And because of His excellency I am not able.+ ²⁴If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, `My trust,'+ ²⁵If I rejoice because great is my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,+ ²⁶If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,+ ²⁷And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,+ ²⁸It also is a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.+ ²⁹If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,+ ³⁰Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.+ ³¹If not--say ye, O men of my tent, `O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.'+ ³²In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open.+ ³³If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity,+ ³⁴Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening.+ ³⁵Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.+ ³⁶If not--on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself.+ ³⁷The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.+ ³⁸If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,+ ³⁹If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,+ ⁴⁰Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished.+

Job’s Final Appeal

Study Job 31