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1 I made a covenant with mine eyes;
How then should I look upon a virgin?
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2 For what is the portion from God above,
And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
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3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous,
And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
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4 Doth not he see my ways,
And number all my steps?
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5 If I have walked with falsehood,
And my foot hath hasted to deceit;
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6 (Let me be weighed in an even balance,
That God may know mine integrity;)
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7 If my step hath turned out of the way,
And my heart walked after mine eyes,
And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
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8 Then let me sow, and let another eat;
Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
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9 If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman,
And I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door;
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10 Then let my wife grind unto another,
And let others bow down upon her.
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11 For that were a heinous crime;
Yes, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
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12 For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction,
And would root out all mine increase.
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13 If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,
When they contended with me;
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14 What then shall I do when God riseth up?
And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
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15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
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16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
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The widow – Job, a man of great generosity, considered the widow. R5401:6
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17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;
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Fatherless – Job was a man of great generosity who considered the orphan. R5401:6
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18 (No, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And her have I guided from my mother’s womb;)
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19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering;
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20 If his loins have not blessed me,
And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
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21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
Because I saw my help in the gate:
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22 Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade,
And mine arm be broken from the bone.
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23 For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
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24 If I have made gold my hope,
And have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;
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25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had gotten much;
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26 If I have beheld the sun when it shined,
Or the moon walking in brightness,
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27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed,
And my mouth hath kissed my hand:
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28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
For I should have denied the God that is above.
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29 If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me,
Or lifted up myself when evil found him;
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30 (Yes, I have not suffered my mouth to sin
By asking his soul with a curse;)
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Mouth to sin – Job in the midst of all his afflictions, was very careful not to sin with his lips. R1937:3
How necessary this is to the stability of Christian character. R1937:3
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31 If the men of my tent have not said,
Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
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32 (The sojourner hath not lodged in the street;
But I have opened my doors to the traveller;)
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33 If like Adam I have covered my transgressions,
By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom;
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34 Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door
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35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
(Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me;)
And that I had the indictment which mine adversary hath written!
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36 Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder;
I would bind it unto me as a crown:
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37 I would declare unto him the number of my steps;
As a prince would I go near unto him.
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38 If my land crieth out against me,
And the furrows thereof weep together;
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39 If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money,
Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their soul:
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The owners – Margin: the soul of owners. It is not the body, but the being, called in the scripture, "soul," that dies. R205:4, R277:1
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40 Let thistles grow instead of wheat,
And cockle instead of barley.The words of Job are ended. |
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