Job Wants a Fair Judgment |
Job 31:1-40 Book of Job [in Smaller Chunks] |
I made a covenant [contract to be faithful, but went astray] with [my] eyes. Then, why should I think upon a maid [I saw?] For what portion [from] God is there from above? And what inheritance [from] the Almighty from on high? |
[Job 20:29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God & the heritage appointed to him by God.] Isn't destruction [for] the wicked? And a strange punishment to [those who work sinfully?] |
Doesn't [God] see my ways & count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot has [hurried to be deceitful,] Let me be weighed in a [fair] balance, [so] that God may know [my] integrity. |
If my [steps] have turned [astray] & [my] heart [followed] after [my] eyes & if any [stain] has clung to my hands; then, let me sow [crops] & let another [person] eat [it.] [Yet,] let my [children] be [uprooted.] |
If [my] heart [has] been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid [in] wait at my neighbor's door [to sneak into his house when he's not there;] Then, let my wife [be intimate] with another & others [be intimate with her, as well.] |
For this is a [destable] crime; [yes,] it is a [sin punishable] by the judges. For [adultery] is a fire that consumes [& leads] to destruction & would [uproot] all [my] increase. |
If I [despised] the [case] of my [male or female servants,] when they [complained against] me, then, what shall I do, when God rises up [against this evil?] And when [God visits] [this issue,] what shall I answer Him? |
Didn't He Who made me in the womb [also] make him? And didn't One [form] us in the womb? If I have withheld their desire from the poor, or have caused the eyes of the widow to [grow dim;] or have eaten my [small amount of food by] myself, alone, [when] the fatherless haven't eaten [any;] |
(For from my youth, [the fatherless] was brought up with me, [like] with a father & from my mother's womb, I have guided the [widow:]) If I have seen any perish for [lack] of clothing, or any poor without [a] covering; |
If his [heart] hasn't blessed me & if he weren't warmed by the fleece [covering made from] my sheep; If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw [that I had] help [at] the gate: |
Then, let my arm [be dislocated] from my shoulder blade & [my] arm be broken from the [bone's socket.] For destruction from God [terrified] me & [because] of His [majesty,] I couldn't endure. |
If I have made my hope, gold; or have said to the fine gold, [I have] confidence in you; If I rejoiced, because my wealth was [large] & because [my] hand had gotten much [wealth;] |
[Job 1:9-10 Then Satan answered the Lord & said, Does Job fear [respect] God for [nothing?] Haven't you made a hedge [around Job & around] his house & [around] everything that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands & his [possessions have] increased in the land.] |
If I [saw] the sun when it shined, or the moon [while] walking in [its] brightness; |
[Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven & when you see the sun, the moon & the stars, even all the host of heaven & should be [drawn] to worship them & serve them, which the Lord, your God, has [separated] & given to all nations under the whole heaven.] |
And my heart has been secretly [lured,] or my mouth has kissed my [own] hand: [Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me: vanity & lies. Give me neither poverty, nor riches. Feed me with convenient food for me.] [These] were also [sins] to be punished by the Judge. For I [would] have denied the God, [Who] is above. |
If I rejoiced at the destruction of him, [who] hated me, or [elevated] myself when evil found him; Neither [would] I have [allowed] my mouth to sin by wishing a curse [upon] his soul. |
[Not even] if the men of my [tent] said, Oh, we can’t be satisfied [unless] we had [the meat] of his flesh [to eat.] The strangers didn’t lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveler. If I [hid my sins like] Adam, by hiding [my sins in my heart.] |
[Was I afraid of a large] multitude, or did the [disapproval] of families terrify me, [so] that I kept [silent] & [didn't go] out of the door? |
[Exodus 23:1-2 You shall not raise a false report. [Don't] put your hand with the wicked to be an [untruthful] witness. You shall not follow a multitude to do evil. Neither shall you speak in a [case to divert justice.] |
Oh, that [someone] would hear me! [See,] my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me & that [my enemy] had written a book. [Job 16:19 Also [look] now, my witness is in heaven & my record is on high.] |
Surely, I would take it upon my shoulder & [wear it like] a crown [for] me. I would declare to [God] the number of my steps, [like] a prince, I would go [close] to Him. |
If my land [cries out] against me, or the furrows [of the field] [also] complain; If I have it's [its] fruit without [paying] money, or have caused [its] owners to lose their [livelihood:] |
[James 5:4 [Look,] the [wages] of the laborers who have [harvested] your fields, [cry out,] which you [have defrauded them & withheld it.] The cries of [those who have harvested have] entered the ears of the Lord of Sabbath.] |
Let thistles grow instead of wheat & [harmful weeds] instead of barley. The words of Job [have] ended. |