New Living Translation | NET Bible |
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 could I entertain thoughts against a virgin? |
2For what has God above chosen for us? What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high? | 2What then would be one's lot from God above, one's heritage from the Almighty on high? |
3Isn’t it calamity for the wicked and misfortune for those who do evil? | 3Is it not misfortune for the unjust, and disaster for those who work iniquity? |
4Doesn’t he see everything I do and every step I take? | 4Does he not see my ways and count all my steps? |
5“Have I lied to anyone or deceived anyone? | 5If I have walked in falsehood, and if my foot has hastened to deceit-- |
6Let God weigh me on the scales of justice, for he knows my integrity. | 6let him weigh me with honest scales; then God will discover 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 my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands, |
8then let someone else eat the crops I have planted. Let all that I have planted be uprooted. | 8then let me sow and let another eat, and 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, | 9If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door, |
10then let my wife serve another man; let other men sleep with her. | 10then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men have sexual relations with her. |
11For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished. | 11For I would have committed a shameful act, an iniquity to be judged. |
12It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own. | 12For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest. |
13“If I have been unfair to my male or female servants when they brought their complaints to me, | 13"If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me, |
14how could I face God? What could I say when he questioned me? | 14then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him? |
15For God created both me and my servants. He created us both in the womb. | 15Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb? |
16“Have I refused to help the poor, or crushed the hopes of widows? | 16If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, |
17Have I been stingy with my food and refused to share it with orphans? | 17If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans-- |
18No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father, and all my life I have cared for widows. | 18but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow! |
19Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes and the needy with nothing to wear, | 19If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without a coat, |
20did they not praise me for providing wool clothing to keep them warm? | 20whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep, |
21“If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, | 21if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court, |
22then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket! | 22then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let my arm be broken off at the socket. |
23That would be better than facing God’s judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there? | 23For the calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his majesty I was powerless. |
24“Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? | 24"If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security!' |
25Have I gloated about my wealth and all that I own? | 25if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained, |
26“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway, | 26if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing, |
27and been secretly enticed in my heart to throw kisses at them in worship? | 27so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth, |
28If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. | 28then this also would be iniquity to be judged, for I would have been false to God above. |
29“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way? | 29If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy or exulted because calamity found him-- |
30No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge. | 30I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse-- |
31“My servants have never said, ‘He let others go hungry.’ | 31if the members of my household have never said, 'If only there were someone who has not been satisfied from Job's meat!'-- |
32I have never turned away a stranger but have opened my doors to everyone. | 32But no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler-- |
33“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do, concealing my guilt in my heart? | 33if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart, |
34Have I feared the crowd or the contempt of the masses, so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors? | 34because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors-- |
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"If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature--let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written. |
36I would face the accusation proudly. I would wear it like a crown. | 36Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown; |
37For I would tell him exactly what I have done. I would come before him like a prince. | 37I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would approach him. |
38“If my land accuses me and all its furrows cry out together, | 38"If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together, |
39or if I have stolen its crops or murdered its owners, | 39if I have eaten its produce without paying, or caused the death of its owners, |
40then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended. | 40then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!" The words of Job are ended. |
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