Job 31
1 pepigi foedus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine
I made a covenant with mine eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin.
2 quam enim partem haberet Deus in me desuper et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis
Now what portion has God given from above? and is there an inheritance [given] of the Mighty One from the highest?
3 numquid non perditio est iniquo et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam
Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do iniquity.
4 nonne ipse considerat vias meas et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat
Will he not see my way, and number all my steps?
5 si ambulavi in vanitate et festinavit in dolo pes meus
But if I had gone with scorners, and if too my foot has hasted to deceit:
6 adpendat me in statera iusta et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam
(for I am weighed in a just balance, and the Lord knows my innocence: )
7 si declinavit gressus meus de via et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum et in manibus meis adhesit macula
if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if mine heart has followed mine eye, and if too I have touched gifts with my hands;
8 seram et alius comedat et progenies mea eradicetur
then let me sow, and let others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth.
9 si deceptum est cor meum super mulierem et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum
If my heart has gone forth after another man's wife, and if I laid wait at her doors;
10 scortum sit alteri uxor mea et super illam incurventur alii
then let my wife also please another, and let my children be brought low.
11 hoc enim nefas est et iniquitas maxima
For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, [in the case] of defiling [another] man's wife.
12 ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans et omnia eradicans genimina
For it is a fire burning on every side, and whoever it attacks, it utterly destroys.
13 si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo et ancillae meae cum disceptarent adversum me
And if too I despised the judgement of my servant or [my] handmaid, when they pleaded with me;
14 quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus et cum quaesierit quid respondebo illi
what then shall I do if the Lord should try me? and if also he should at all visit me, can I make an answer?
15 numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est et formavit in vulva unus
Were not they too formed as I also was formed in the womb? yes, we were formed in the same womb.
16 si negavi quod volebant pauperibus et oculos viduae expectare feci
But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail.
17 si comedi buccellam meam solus et non comedit pupillus ex ea
And if too I ate my morsel alone, and did not impart [of it] to the orphan;
18 quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum
(for I nourished [them] as a father from my youth and guided [them] from my mother's womb.)
19 si despexi pereuntem eo quod non habuerit indumentum et absque operimento pauperem
And if too I overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him;
20 si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est
and if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were [not] warmed with the fleece of my lambs;
21 si levavi super pupillum manum meam etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem
if I lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior [to his]:
22 umerus meus a iunctura sua cadat et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur
let them my shoulder start from the blade-bone, and my arm be crushed off from the elbow.
23 semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum et pondus eius ferre non potui
For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I can’t bear up by reason of his burden.
24 si putavi aurum robur meum et obrizae dixi fiducia mea
If I made gold my treasure, and if too I trusted the precious stone;
25 si laetatus sum super multis divitiis meis et quia plurima repperit manus mea
and if too I rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if too I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:
26 si vidi solem cum fulgeret et lunam incedentem clare
(do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? for they have not [power to continue]: )
27 et lactatum est in abscondito cor meum et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo
and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it:
28 quae est iniquitas maxima et negatio contra Deum altissimum
let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I [should] have lied against the Lord Most High.
29 si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius qui me oderat et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum
And if too I was glad at the fall of mine enemies, and mine heart said, Aha!
30 non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum ut expeterem maledicens animam eius
let then mine ear hear my curse, and let me be a byword amongst my people in my affliction.
31 si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur
And if too my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:
32 foris non mansit peregrinus ostium meum viatori patuit
for the stranger did not lodge without, and my door was opened to every one that came: )
33 si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam
or if too having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin;
34 si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam et despectio propinquorum terruit me et non magis tacui nec egressus sum ostium
(for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them: ) and if too I permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom:
35 quis mihi tribuat auditorem ut desiderium meum Omnipotens audiat et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat
(Oh that I had a hearer, ) and if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and [as to] the written charge which I had against any one,
36 ut in umero meo portem illum et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi
I would place [it] as a chaplet on my shoulders, and read it.
37 per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum et quasi principi offeram eum
And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor:
38 si adversum me terra mea clamat et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent
If at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned together;
39 si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia et animam agricolarum eius adflixi
and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking [anything] from [him]:
40 pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus et pro hordeo spina finita sunt verba Iob
then let the nettle come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.
