Read the Bible

¹ "I have made a covenant with my ^(a)eyes;
    how then could I gaze at a virgin?
² What would be ^(b)my portion from God above
    and ^(c)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
³ Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
    and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
^4 (d)Does not he see my ways
    and ^(e)number all my steps?

⁵ "If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
⁶ (Let me be ^(f)weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
⁷ if my step has turned aside from the way
    and ^(g)my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any ^(h)spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ then let me ⁽ⁱ⁾sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me^[a] be rooted out.

⁹ "If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have ^(j)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
¹⁰ then let my wife ^(k)grind for another,
    and let others ^(l)bow down on her.
¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity ^(m)to be punished by the judges;
¹² for that would be a fire ⁽ⁿ⁾that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

¹³ "If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
¹⁴ what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he ^(o)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
¹⁵ Did ^(p)not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ "If I have ^(q)withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have ^(r)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
¹⁸ (for from my youth the fatherless^[b] grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow^[c]),
¹⁹ if I have seen anyone ^(s)perish for ^(t)lack of clothing,
    or the needy without ^(u)covering,
²⁰ if his body has not ^(v)blessed me,^[d]
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against ^(w)the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in ^(x)the gate,
²² then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
    and let my arm be broken from its socket.
²³ For I was ^(y)in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his ^(z)majesty.

^24 (aa)"If I have made gold my ^(ab)trust
    or called ^(ac)fine gold my confidence,
²⁵ if I have ^(ad)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
    or because ^(ae)my hand had found much,
^26 (af)if I have looked at the sun^[e] when it shone,
    or ^(ag)the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ and my heart has been secretly enticed,
    and my mouth has kissed my hand,
²⁸ this also would be ^(ah)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
    for I would have been false to God above.

²⁹ "If I have ^(ai)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
    or exulted when evil overtook him
³⁰ (^(aj)I have not let my mouth sin
    by asking for his life with a curse),
³¹ if the men of my tent have not said,
    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his ^(ak)meat?'
³² (^(al)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
    I have opened my doors to the traveler),
³³ if I ^(am)have concealed my transgressions ^(an)as others do^[f]
    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
³⁴ because I stood in great fear of ^(ao)the multitude,
    and the contempt of families terrified me,
    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
³⁵ Oh, that I had one to hear me!
    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty ^(ap)answer me!)
    Oh, that I had ^(aq)the indictment written by my adversary!
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my ^(ar)shoulder;
    I would ^(as)bind it on me as ^(at)a crown;
³⁷ I would give him an account of all my steps;
    like a prince I would approach him.

³⁸ "If my land has cried out against me
    and its furrows have wept together,
^39 (au)if I have eaten its yield without payment
    and made its owners ^(av)breathe their last,
⁴⁰ let ^(aw)thorns grow instead of wheat,
    and foul weeds instead of barley."