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Job 31 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Job Asserts His Integrity

Job 31:1

“I have made a covenant (agreement) with my eyes;

How then could I gaze [lustfully] at a virgin?

Job 31:2

“For what is the portion I would have from God above,

And what heritage from the Almighty on high?

Job 31:3

“Does not tragedy fall [justly] on the unjust

And disaster to those who work wickedness?

Job 31:4

“Does not God see my ways

And count all my steps?

Job 31:5

“If I have walked with falsehood,

Or if my foot has chased after deceit,

Job 31:6

Oh, let Him weigh me with accurate scales,

And let God know my integrity.

Job 31:7

“If my step has turned away from the way [of God],

Or if my heart has [covetously] followed my eyes,

Or if any spot [of guilt] has stained my hands,

Job 31:8

Then let me plant and [let] another eat [from the results of my labor],

And let my crops be uprooted and ruined.

Job 31:9

“If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman,

Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor’s door [until his departure],

Job 31:10

Let my wife grind [meal, like a bond slave] for another [man],

And let others [fn]kneel down over her.

Job 31:11

“For adultery is a heinous and lustful crime;

Moreover, it would be a sin punishable by the judges.

Job 31:12

“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment);

And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

Job 31:13

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants

When they filed a complaint against me,

Job 31:14

What then could I do when God arises [to judge me]?

When He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

Job 31:15

“Did not He who made me in the womb make my servant,

And did not the same One fashion us both in the womb?

Job 31:16

“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,

Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

Job 31:17

Or have eaten my morsel [of food] alone,

And did not share it with the orphan

Job 31:18

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,

And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),

Job 31:19

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,

Or any poor person without covering,

Job 31:20

If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them],

And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

Job 31:21

If I have lifted my hand against the orphan,

Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

Job 31:22

Then let my shoulder fall away from its socket,

And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

Job 31:23

“For tragedy from God is a terror to me,

And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

Job 31:24

“If I have put my trust and confidence in gold,

Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

Job 31:25

If I gloated and rejoiced because my wealth was great,

And because my [powerful] hand [alone] had obtained so much,

Job 31:26

If I beheld the sun [as an object of worship] when it shone

Or the moon going in its splendor,

Job 31:27

And my heart became secretly enticed [by them],

And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth [in respect to them],

Job 31:28

This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment,

For I would have denied God above.

Job 31:29

“Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me],

Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

Job 31:30

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin

By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

Job 31:31

“I assure you, the men of my tent have said,

‘Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

Job 31:32

“The stranger has not lodged in the street,

Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

Job 31:33

“Have I concealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men,

By hiding my wickedness in my bosom,

Job 31:34

Because I feared the great multitude,

And the contempt of families terrified me,

So that I kept silence and did not acknowledge my sin and did not go out of the door?

Job 31:35

“Oh, that I had one to listen to me!

Look, here is my signature (mark);

Let the Almighty answer me!

Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form].

Job 31:36

“Surely I would [proudly] bear it on my shoulder,

And bind the scroll around my head like a crown.

Job 31:37

“I would count out to Him the number of my steps [with every detail of my life],

Approaching His presence as if I were a prince.

Job 31:38

“For if my land has cried out against me,

And its furrows weep together;

Job 31:39

If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them,

Or have caused its [rightful] owners to lose their lives,

Job 31:40

Let thorns grow instead of wheat,

And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley.”

So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.

AMP Footnotes
I.e. participate in sexual intimacy.
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Job Chapter 31 — Additional Translations: