(“) I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze (with desire) at a virgin ?
For what (is) the allotment of God from above , or the heritage from the Almighty on high ?
Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity ?
Does He not see my ways and count my every step ?
If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit ,
let God weigh me with honest scales , that He may know my integrity.
If my steps have turned from the path , if my heart has followed ... my eyes , or if impurity has stuck to my hands ,
then may another eat what I have sown , and may my crops be uprooted.
If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife , or I have lurked at his door ,
then may my own wife grind (grain) for another , and may other men sleep with her.
For that (would be) a heinous crime , - an iniquity to be judged.
For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon ; it would root out my entire harvest.
If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me ,
what will I do when God rises to judge ? How will I answer when called to account ?
Did not He who made me in the womb also make them ? Did not the same One form us in the womb ?
If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail ,
if I have eaten my morsel alone , not sharing it with the fatherless —
though from my youth I reared him as would a father , and from my mother’s womb I guided (the widow) —
if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing , or a needy man without a cloak ,
if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep ,
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate ,
then may my arm fall vvv from my shoulder and be torn from its socket.
For calamity from God terrifies me , and His splendor I cannot overpower.
If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security ,
if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much ,
if I have beheld the sun - in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor ,
so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth ,
this would also be an iniquity to be judged , for I would have denied God on high.
If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin , or exulted when evil befell him —
I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse —
if the men of my house have not said , ‘ Who is there ... who has not had his fill ? ’—
(but) no stranger had to lodge on the street , for my door has been open to the traveler —
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart ,
because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me , so that I kept silent and would not go outside ... —
( Oh, that I had one to hear Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me ; let my accuser ... compose an indictment.
Surely ... I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.
I would give account of all my steps ; I would approach Him like a prince.) —
if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together ,
if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit ... of its tenants ,
then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. ” Thus conclude the words of Job -.