איוב לאJob 31
I have covenanted with my eyesNot to gaze on a maiden.
What fate is decreed by God above?What lot, by Shaddai in the heights?
Calamity is surely for the iniquitous;Misfortune, for the worker of mischief.
Surely [God] observes my ways,Takes account of my every step.
Have I walked with the worthless,Or my feet hurried to deceit?
Let me be weighed on the scale of righteousness;Let God ascertain my integrity.
If my feet have strayed from their course,My heart followed after my eyes,And a stain sullied my hands,
May I sow, but another reap,May the growth of my field be uprooted!
If my heart was ravished by the wife of my neighbor,And I lay in wait at his door,
May my wife grind for another,May others kneel over her!
For that would have been debauchery,A criminal offense,
A fire burning down to Abaddon,Consuming the roots of all my increase.
Did I ever brush aside the case of my servants, man or maid,When they made a complaint against me?
What then should I do when God arises;When I am called to account, what should I answer?
Did not the One who made me in my mother’s belly make him?Did not One form us both in the womb?
Did I deny the poor their needs,Or let a widow pine away,
By eating my food alone,The fatherless not eating of it also?
Why, from my youth he grew up with me as though I were his father;Since I left my mother’s womb I was the widow’s guide.
I never saw an unclad wretch,Someone needy without clothing,
Whose loins did not bless meAs they warmed themselves with the shearings of my sheep.
If I raised my hand against the fatherless,Looking to my supporters in the gate,
May my arm drop off my shoulder;My forearm break off at the elbow.
For I am in dread of God-sent calamity;I cannot bear such a threat.
Did I put my reliance on gold,Or regard fine gold as my bulwark?
Did I rejoice in my great wealth,In having attained plenty?
If ever I saw the light shining,The moon on its course in full glory,
And I secretly succumbed,And my hand touched my mouth in a kiss,
That, too, would have been a criminal offense,For I would have denied God above.
Did I rejoice over my enemies’ misfortune?Did I thrill because evil befell them?
I never let my mouth sinBy wishing their death in a curse.
(Indeed, those of my clan said,“We would consume his flesh insatiably!”)
No sojourner spent the night in the open;I opened my doors to the road.
Did I hide my transgressions like Adam,Bury my wrongdoing in my bosom,
That I should [now] fear the great multitude,And am shattered by the contempt of families,So that I keep silent and do not step outdoors?
O that I had someone to give me a hearing;O that Shaddai would reply to my writ,Or my accuser draw up a true bill!
I would carry it on my shoulder;Tie it around me for a wreath.
I would give an account of my steps,Offer it as to a commander.
If my land cries out against me,Its furrows weep together;
If I have eaten its produce without payment,And made its [rightful] owners despair,
May nettles grow there instead of wheat;Instead of barley, stinkweed!The words of Job are at an end.