New Living Translation | International Standard Version |
1“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman. | 1"I made a covenant with my eyes; how, then, can I focus my attention on a virgin? |
2For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? | 2What would I have from God above, what heritage from the Almighty on high, |
3Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil? | 3if not calamity that is due the unjust, and misfortune that is due those who practice iniquity? |
4Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take? | 4He watches my life, observing every one of my actions, does he not?" |
5“Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? | 5"If I've lived my life in the company of vanity, or run quickly to embrace deception, |
6Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. | 6let my righteousness be weighed in honest scales, and God will make known my integrity. |
7If I have strayed from his pathway, or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen, or if I am guilty of any other sin, | 7If I have stepped away from the way, or if my heart covets whatever my eyes see, or if some other blemish clings to my hands, |
8then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted. | 8what I've planted, let another eat or let my crops be uprooted." |
9“If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife, | 9"If my heart has been seduced by a woman and I've laid in wait at my friend's door, |
10then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her. | 10then let my wife cook for another person and may someone else sleep with her, |
11For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. | 11because something as lascivious as that is an iniquity that should be judged. |
12It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own. | 12The fires of Abaddon will burn, disrupting every part of my eternal reward." |
13“If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me, | 13"If I've refused to help my male and female servants when they complain against me, |
14how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me? | 14what will I do when God stands up to act? When he asks the questions, how will I answer him? |
15For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb. | 15The one who made me in the womb made them, too, didn't he? Didn't the same one prepare each of us in the womb?" |
16“Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? | 16"If I refused to grant the desire of the poor or exhausted the eyes of the widow, |
17Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? | 17if I ate my meals by myself without feeding orphans, |
18No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. | 18(even a poor man had grown up with me as if I were his father, and even though I had guided the widow from the time I was born), |
19Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, | 19if I've observed someone who is about to die for lack of clothes or if I have no clothing to give to the poor, |
20did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? | 20if he hadn't thanked me from the bottom of his heart, if he had not been warmed by wool from my sheep, |
21“If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, | 21if I've raised my hand against an orphan when I thought I would against him in court, |
22then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket! | 22then let my arm fall from its socket; and may my arm be torn off at the shoulder. |
23That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there? | 23For I'm terrified of what calamity God may have in store for me; and I cannot endure his grandeur." |
24“Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? | 24"If I've put my confidence in gold, if I've told gold, 'You're my security,' |
25Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own? | 25if I've found joy in great wealth that I own, if I've earned a lot with my own hands, |
26“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway, | 26if I look at the sun when it shines or the moon as it rises in steady splendor, |
27and been secretly enticed in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship? | 27so that in the depths of my deceived heart I worshipped them with my mouth and hands, |
28If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. | 28this is also a sin that deserves to be judged, since I would have tried to deceive God above." |
29“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way? | 29"Have I rejoiced in the destruction of those who hate me, or have I been happy that evil caught up with him? |
30No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge. | 30No, I haven't allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse. |
31“My servants have never said, ‘He let others go hungry.’ | 31People in my household have said, 'We cannot find anyone who has not been satisfied with his meat,' haven't they? |
32I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone. | 32No stranger ever spent the night in the street, because I opened my doors to travelers." |
33“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart? | 33"Have I covered my transgression like other people, to conceal iniquity within myself? |
34Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors? | 34Have I feared large crowds? Has my family's contempt ever terrified me so that I remained silent and wouldn't go outside?" |
35“If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me. | 35"Who will grant me a hearing? Here's my signature —let the Almighty answer! Since my adversary indicted me, |
36I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown. | 36I'll wear it on my shoulder, or tie it on my head for a crown! |
37For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince. | 37I'll give an account for every step I've taken; I'll approach him confidently like a Commander-in-Chief." |
38“If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together, | 38"If my land were to cry out against me or if all its furrows wept as one, |
39or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners, | 39If I've consumed its produce without paying for it and snuffed out the life of its owners; |
40then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended. | 40may thorns spring up instead of wheat, and obnoxious weeds instead of barley." With this, Job's discourse with his friends is completed. |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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