Job 31 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

Job Defends His Righteousness

Job 31:1

Job 31:1“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
Why then should I look upon a young woman?

Job 31:2

Job 31:2For what is the allotment of God from above,
And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Job 31:3

Job 31:3Is it not destruction for the wicked,
And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

Job 31:4

Job 31:4Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?

Job 31:5

Job 31:5“If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

Job 31:6

Job 31:6Let me be weighed on honest scales,
That God may know my integrity.

Job 31:7

Job 31:7If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart walked after my eyes,
Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

Job 31:8

Job 31:8Then let me sow, and another eat;
Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

Job 31:9

Job 31:9“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

Job 31:10

Job 31:10Then let my wife grind for another,
And let others bow down over her.

Job 31:11

Job 31:11For that would be wickedness;
Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.

Job 31:12

Job 31:12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
And would root out all my increase.

Job 31:13

Job 31:13“If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
When they complained against me,

Job 31:14

Job 31:14What then shall I do when God rises up?
When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?

Job 31:15

Job 31:15Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?

Job 31:16

Job 31:16“If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Job 31:17

Job 31:17Or eaten my morsel by myself,
So that the fatherless could not eat of it

Job 31:18

Job 31:18(But from my youth I reared him as a father,
And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow[fn]);

Job 31:19

Job 31:19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor man without covering;

Job 31:20

Job 31:20If his heart[fn] has not blessed me,
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

Job 31:21

Job 31:21If I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
When I saw I had help in the gate;

Job 31:22

Job 31:22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
Let my arm be torn from the socket.

Job 31:23

Job 31:23For destruction from God is a terror to me,
And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.

Job 31:24

Job 31:24“If I have made gold my hope,
Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

Job 31:25

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

Job 31:26

Job 31:26If I have observed the sun[fn] when it shines,
Or the moon moving in brightness,

Job 31:27

Job 31:27So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
And my mouth has kissed my hand;

Job 31:28

Job 31:28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
For I would have denied God who is above.

Job 31:29

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

Job 31:30

Job 31:30(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for a curse on his soul);

Job 31:31

Job 31:31If the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’

Job 31:32

Job 31:32(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler[fn]);

Job 31:33

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

Job 31:34

Job 31:34Because I feared the great multitude,
And dreaded the contempt of families,
So that I kept silence
And did not go out of the door—

Job 31:35

Job 31:35Oh, that I had one to hear me!
Here is my mark.
Oh, that the Almighty would answer me,
That my Prosecutor had written a book!

Job 31:36

Job 31:36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
And bind it on me like a crown;

Job 31:37

Job 31:37I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

Job 31:38

Job 31:38“If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

Job 31:39

Job 31:39If I have eaten its fruit[fn] without money,
Or caused its owners to lose their lives;

Job 31:40

Job 31:40Then let thistles grow instead of wheat,
And weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.

See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NKJV Footnotes

(31:18)

Literally her (compare verse 16)

(31:20)

Literally loins

(31:26)

Literally light

(31:32)

Following Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate; Masoretic Text reads road.

(31:39)

Literally its strength

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For more information on this translation, see the NKJV Preface.