Job 31 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Job’s Final Protest of Innocence

Job 31:1

Job 31:1“I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look with lust at a young woman.

Job 31:2

Job 31:2For what has God above chosen for us?
What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?

Job 31:3

Job 31:3Isn’t it calamity for the wicked
and misfortune for those who do evil?

Job 31:4

Job 31:4Doesn’t he see everything I do
and every step I take?

Job 31:5

Job 31:5“Have I lied to anyone
or deceived anyone?

Job 31:6

Job 31:6Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
for he knows my integrity.

Job 31:7

Job 31:7If 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,

Job 31:8

Job 31:8then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.
Let all that I have planted be uprooted.

Job 31:9

Job 31:9“If my heart has been seduced by a woman,
or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,

Job 31:10

Job 31:10then let my wife belong to[fn] another man;
let other men sleep with her.

Job 31:11

Job 31:11For lust is a shameful sin,
a crime that should be punished.

Job 31:12

Job 31:12It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.[fn]
It would wipe out everything I own.

Job 31:13

Job 31:13“If I have been unfair to my male or female servants
when they brought their complaints to me,

Job 31:14

Job 31:14how could I face God?
What could I say when he questioned me?

Job 31:15

Job 31:15For God created both me and my servants.
He created us both in the womb.

Job 31:16

Job 31:16“Have I refused to help the poor,
or crushed the hopes of widows?

Job 31:17

Job 31:17Have I been stingy with my food
and refused to share it with orphans?

Job 31:18

Job 31:18No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,
and all my life I have cared for widows.

Job 31:19

Job 31:19Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes
and the needy with nothing to wear,

Job 31:20

Job 31:20did they not praise me
for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?

Job 31:21

Job 31:21“If I raised my hand against an orphan,
knowing the judges would take my side,

Job 31:22

Job 31:22then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!
Let my arm be torn from its socket!

Job 31:23

Job 31:23That would be better than facing God’s judgment.
For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

Job 31:24

Job 31:24“Have I put my trust in money
or felt secure because of my gold?

Job 31:25

Job 31:25Have I gloated about my wealth
and all that I own?

Job 31:26

Job 31:26“Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,
or the moon walking down its silver pathway,

Job 31:27

Job 31:27and been secretly enticed in my heart
to throw kisses at them in worship?

Job 31:28

Job 31:28If so, I should be punished by the judges,
for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.

Job 31:29

Job 31:29“Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,
or become excited when harm came their way?

Job 31:30

Job 31:30No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone
or by asking for revenge.

Job 31:31

Job 31:31“My servants have never said,
‘He let others go hungry.’

Job 31:32

Job 31:32I have never turned away a stranger
but have opened my doors to everyone.

Job 31:33

Job 31:33“Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,
concealing my guilt in my heart?

Job 31:34

Job 31:34Have I feared the crowd
or the contempt of the masses,
so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?

Job 31:35

Job 31:35“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.

Job 31:36

Job 31:36I would face the accusation proudly.
I would wear it like a crown.

Job 31:37

Job 31:37For I would tell him exactly what I have done.
I would come before him like a prince.

Job 31:38

Job 31:38“If my land accuses me
and all its furrows cry out together,

Job 31:39

Job 31:39or if I have stolen its crops
or murdered its owners,

Job 31:40

Job 31:40then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,
and weeds instead of barley.” Job’s words are ended.

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

NLT Footnotes

(31:10)

Hebrew grind for.

(31:12)

Hebrew to Abaddon.

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

Job Chapter 31 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Job 31 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Job Chapter 31 — Additional Translations:

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