1901 American Standard Version (ASV)

Job 31

Job maketh a solemn protestation of his integrity in several duties.

 31:1 ¶ I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?

 31:2 For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?

 31:3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?

 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, And number all my steps?

 31:5 If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot hath hasted to deceit

 31:6 (Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity);

 31:7 If my step hath turned out of the way, And my heart walked after mine eyes, And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:

 31:8 Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.

 31:9 If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;

 31:10 Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.

 31:11 For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:

 31:12 For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.

 31:13 If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;

 31:14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

 31:15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

 31:16 If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

 31:17 Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof

 31:18 (Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother's womb);

 31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;

 31:20 If his loins have not blessed me, And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

 31:21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:

 31:22 Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.

 31:23 For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.

 31:24 If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;

 31:25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;

 31:26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,

 31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And my mouth hath kissed my hand:

 31:28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above.

 31:29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him;

 31:30 (Yea, I have not suffered by mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);

 31:31 If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?

 31:32 (The sojourner hath not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveller);

 31:33 If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,

 31:34 Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door --

 31:35 Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); And [that I had] the indictment which mine adversary hath written!

 31:36 Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown:

 31:37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him.

 31:38 If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;

 31:39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

 31:40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.