87 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
87 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 31
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1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
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Why then should I look upon a young woman?
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2 For what is the allotment of God from above,
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And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
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3 Is it not destruction for the wicked,
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And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
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4 Does He not see my ways,
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And count all my steps?
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5 “If I have walked with falsehood,
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Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
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6 Let me be weighed on honest scales,
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That God may know my integrity.
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7 If my step has turned from the way,
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Or my heart walked after my eyes,
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Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
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8 Then let me sow, and another eat;
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Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.
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9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
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Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
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10 Then let my wife grind for another,
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And let others bow down over her.
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11 For that would be wickedness;
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Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
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12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction,
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And would root out all my increase.
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13 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
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When they complained against me,
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14 What then shall I do when God rises up?
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When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
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15 Did not He who made me in the womb make them?
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Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
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16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
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Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
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17 Or eaten my morsel by myself,
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So that the fatherless could not eat of it
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18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father,
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And from my mother’s womb I guided the widow);
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19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
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Or any poor man without covering;
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20 If his heart has not blessed me,
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And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
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21 If I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
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When I saw I had help in the gate;
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22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder,
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Let my arm be torn from the socket.
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23 For destruction from God is a terror to me,
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And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
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24 “If I have made gold my hope,
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Or said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
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25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
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And because my hand had gained much;
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26 If I have observed the sun when it shines,
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Or the moon moving in brightness,
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27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed,
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And my mouth has kissed my hand;
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28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment,
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For I would have denied God who is above.
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29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
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Or lifted myself up when evil found him
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30 (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin
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By asking for a curse on his soul);
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31 If the men of my tent have not said,
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‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’
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32 (But no sojourner had to lodge in the street,
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For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
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33 If I have covered my transgressions as Adam,
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By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
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34 Because I feared the great multitude,
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And dreaded the contempt of families,
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So that I kept silence
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And did not go out of the door—
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35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
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Here is my mark.
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Oh, that the Almighty would answer me,
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That my Prosecutor had written a book!
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36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
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And bind it on me like a crown;
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37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
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Like a prince I would approach Him.
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38 “If my land cries out against me,
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And its furrows weep together;
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39 If I have eaten its fruit without money,
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Or caused its owners to lose their lives;
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40 Then let thistles grow instead of wheat,
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And weeds instead of barley.”
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The words of Job are ended. |