Read the Bible

¹ "I made a covenant with my eyes,
so^[a] how could I look closely upon a virgin?
² And what is the portion of God from above
or^[b] the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
³ Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
⁴ Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
⁵ "If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
⁶ let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
⁷ If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
⁸ let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
⁹ "If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor's doorway I have lain in wait,
¹⁰ let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
¹¹ for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.^[c]
12 Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
¹³ "If I have rejected my male or^[d] female slave's case
when their complaint was against me,
¹⁴ then^[e] what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
¹⁵ Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
¹⁶ "If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or^[f] I have caused the widow's eyes to fail,
¹⁷ or I have eaten my morsel alone,^[g]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
¹⁸ (for from my childhood he^[h] grew up with^[i] me like a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided her^[j]),
¹⁹ if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or^[k] that there is no covering for the poor,
²⁰ if his loins have not blessed me,
or^[l] by means of my sheep's fleece he has warmed himself,
²¹ if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
²² then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
²³ Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless^[m] because of his majesty.
²⁴ "If I have made gold my trust,
or^[n] I have called fine gold my security,
²⁵ if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or^[o] because my hand found a fortune,
²⁶ if I looked at the sun when it shone
or^[p] at the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷ and I was secretly enticed,^[q]
and my hand threw them a kiss,^[r]
28 this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
²⁹ "If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or^[s] have exulted when evil overtook him—
³⁰ no,^[t] I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
³¹ Have the people of my tent not said,^[u]
‘O that^[v] someone^[w] had not been satisfied with his meat'?
³² An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
³³ Have I concealed^[x] my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
³⁴ because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
³⁵ O that^[y] I had^[z] someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for^[aa] the written communication that my adversary^[ab] has written,
³⁶ I would surely^[ac] carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
³⁷ I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
³⁸ If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
³⁹ if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or^[ad] I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
⁴⁰ let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley."
The words of Job are ended.