Job 31
1 Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
2 Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hereditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
For what portion of God [is there] from above? and [what] inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus iniustitiam?
[Is] not destruction to the wicked? and a strange [punishment] to the workers of iniquity?
4 Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus:
If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;
6 Appendat me in statera iusta, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.
7 Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula:
If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;
8 Seram, et alium comedat: et progenies mea eradicetur.
[Then] let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum:
If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or [if] I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;
10 Scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
[Then] let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.
11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
For this [is] an heinous crime; yea, it [is] an iniquity [to be punished by] the judges.
12 Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
For it [is] a fire [that] consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.
13 Si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo, et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me.
If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
14 Quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad iudicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?
What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15 Numquid non in utero fecit me qui et illum operatus est: et formavit me in vulva unus?
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 Si negavi, quod volebant, pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci:
If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
17 Si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea:
Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
18 (Quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio: et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum.)
(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as [with] a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb; )
19 Si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem:
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
20 Si non benedixerunt mihi latera eius, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est:
If his loins have not blessed me, and [if] he were [not] warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 Si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:
22 Humerus meus a iunctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
[Then] let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.
23 Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus eius ferre non potui.
For destruction [from] God [was] a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
24 Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea.
If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;
25 Si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea.
If I rejoiced because my wealth [was] great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
26 Si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare:
If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking [in] brightness;
27 Et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo.
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28 Quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
This also [were] an iniquity [to be punished by] the judge: for I should have denied the God [that is] above.
29 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam eius, qui me oderat, et exultavi quod invenisset eum malum.
If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:
30 Non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam eius.
Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.
31 Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus eius ut saturemur?
If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.
32 Foris non mansit peregrinus, ostium meum viatori patuit.
The stranger did not lodge in the street: [but] I opened my doors to the traveller.
33 Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam.
If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:
34 Si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, [and] went not out of the door?
35 Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens: et librum scribat ipse qui iudicat.
Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire [is, that] the Almighty would answer me, and [that] mine adversary had written a book.
36 Ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, [and] bind it [as] a crown to me.
37 Per singulos gradus meos pronunciabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.
38 Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci eius deflent:
If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;
39 Si fructus eius comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum eius afflixi:
If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40 Pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina. Finita sunt verba Iob.
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
