New Living Translation

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes<br>not to look with lust at a young woman.<br> 2 For what has God (Elohim) above chosen for us?<br>What is our inheritance from the Almighty on high?<br> 3 Isn’t it calamity for the wicked<br>and misfortune for those who do evil?<br> 4 Doesn’t he see everything I do<br>and every step I take?<br> 5 “Have I lied to anyone<br>or deceived anyone?<br> 6 Let God (Elohim) weigh me on the scales of justice,<br>for he knows my integrity.<br> 7 If I have strayed from his pathway,<br>or if my heart has lusted for what my eyes have seen,<br>or if I am guilty of any other sin,<br> 8 then let someone else eat the crops I have planted.<br>Let all that I have planted be uprooted.<br> 9 “If my heart has been seduced by a woman,<br>or if I have lusted for my neighbor’s wife,<br> 10 then let my wife serve another man;<br>let other men sleep with her.<br> 11 For lust is a shameful sin,<br>a crime that should be punished.<br> 12 It is a fire that burns all the way to hell.<br>It would wipe out everything I own.<br> 13 “If I have been unfair to my male or female servants<br>when they brought their complaints to me,<br> 14 how could I face God (Elohim)?<br>What could I say when he questioned me?<br> 15 For God (Elohim) created both me and my servants.<br>He created us both in the womb.<br> 16 “Have I refused to help the poor,<br>or crushed the hopes of widows?<br> 17 Have I been stingy with my food<br>and refused to share it with orphans?<br> 18 No, from childhood I have cared for orphans like a father,<br>and all my life I have cared for widows.<br> 19 Whenever I saw the homeless without clothes<br>and the needy with nothing to wear,<br> 20 did they not praise me<br>for providing wool clothing to keep them warm?<br> 21 “If I raised my hand against an orphan,<br>knowing the judges would take my side,<br> 22 then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place!<br>Let my arm be torn from its socket!<br> 23 That would be better than facing God (Elohim)’s judgment.<br>For if the majesty of God (Elohim) opposes me, what hope is there?<br> 24 “Have I put my trust in money<br>or felt secure because of my gold?<br> 25 Have I gloated about my wealth<br>and all that I own?<br> 26 “Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies,<br>or the moon walking down its silver pathway,<br> 27 and been secretly enticed in my heart<br>to throw kisses at them in worship?<br> 28 If so, I should be punished by the judges,<br>for it would mean I had denied the God (Elohim) of heaven.<br> 29 “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies,<br>or become excited when harm came their way?<br> 30 No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone<br>or by asking for revenge.<br> 31 “My servants have never said,<br>‘He let others go hungry.’<br> 32 I have never turned away a stranger<br>but have opened my doors to everyone.<br> 33 “Have I tried to hide my sins like other people do,<br>concealing my guilt in my heart?<br> 34 Have I feared the crowd<br>or the contempt of the masses,<br>so that I kept quiet and stayed indoors?<br> 35 “If only someone would listen to me!<br>Look, I will sign my name to my defense.<br>Let the Almighty answer me.<br>Let my accuser write out the charges against me.<br> 36 I would face the accusation proudly.<br>I would wear it like a crown.<br> 37 For I would tell him exactly what I have done.<br>I would come before him like a prince.<br> 38 “If my land accuses me<br>and all its furrows cry out together,<br> 39 or if I have stolen its crops<br>or murdered its owners,<br> 40 then let thistles grow on that land instead of wheat,<br>and weeds instead of barley.”<br> Job’s words are ended.