Job 31
Job Asserts His
Integrity |
1 |
I made a covenant with mine eyes;
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why then should I think upon a
maid? |
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2 |
For what portion of God is there from above?
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and what inheritance of the Almighty from on
high? |
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3 |
Is not destruction to the
wicked?
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and a strange punishment to the workers of
iniquity? |
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4 |
Doth not he see my ways,
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5 |
If I have walked with vanity,
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or if my foot hath hasted to
deceit; |
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6 |
let me be weighed in an even balance,
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that God may know mine
integrity. |
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7 |
If my step hath turned out of the
way,
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and mine heart walked after mine eyes, |
and if any blot hath cleaved to mine
hands; |
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8 |
then let me sow, and let another
eat;
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yea, let my offspring be rooted out.
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9 |
If mine heart have been deceived by a
woman,
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or if I have laid wait at my neighbor's
door; |
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10 |
then let my wife grind unto
another,
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and let others bow down upon
her. |
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11 |
For this is a heinous crime;
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yea, it is an iniquity to be punished
by the
judges. |
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12 |
For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction,
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and would root out all mine increase.
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13 |
If I did despise the cause of my
manservant or of my maidservant,
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when they contended with
me; |
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14 |
what then shall I do when God riseth
up?
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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?
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And did not one fashion us in the womb?
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16 |
If I have withheld the poor from their desire,
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or have caused the eyes of the widow to
fail; |
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17 |
or have eaten my morsel myself alone,
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and the fatherless hath not eaten
thereof; |
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18 |
(for from my youth he was brought up with
me, as with a father,
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and I have guided her from my mother's
womb;) |
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19 |
if I have seen any perish for want of
clothing,
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or any poor without
covering; |
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20 |
if his loins have not blessed me,
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and if he were not warmed with the
fleece of my
sheep; |
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21 |
if I have lifted up my hand against the
fatherless,
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when I saw my help in the
gate: |
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22 |
then let mine arm fall from my
shoulder blade,
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and mine arm be broken from the
bone. |
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23 |
For destruction from God was a terror to me,
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and by reason of his highness I could not endure.
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24 |
If I have made gold my hope,
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or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my
confidence; |
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25 |
if I rejoiced because my wealth was great,
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and because mine hand had gotten
much; |
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26 |
if I beheld the sun when it shined,
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or the moon walking in brightness; |
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27 |
and my heart hath been secretly
enticed,
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or my mouth hath kissed my
hand: |
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28 |
this also were an iniquity to
be punished by the judge:
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for I should have denied the God that is above.
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29 |
If I rejoiced at the destruction of him
that hated me,
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or lifted up myself when evil found
him; |
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30 |
(neither have I suffered my mouth to
sin
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by wishing a curse to his
soul.) |
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31 |
If the men of my tabernacle said not,
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Oh that we had of his flesh! We cannot be
satisfied. |
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32 |
The stranger did not lodge in the
street:
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but I opened my doors to the
traveler. |
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33 |
If I covered my transgressions as
Adam,
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by hiding mine iniquity in my
bosom: |
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34 |
did I fear a great multitude,
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or did the contempt of families terrify me, |
that I kept silence, and went not out of the
door? |
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35 |
Oh that one would hear me!
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Behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would
answer me, |
and that mine adversary had written a
book. |
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36 |
Surely I would take it upon my
shoulder,
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and bind it as a crown to
me. |
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37 |
I would declare unto him the number of my
steps;
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as a prince would I go near unto him.
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38 |
If my land cry against me,
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or that the furrows likewise thereof
complain; |
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39 |
if I have eaten the fruits thereof
without money,
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or have caused the owners thereof to lose their
life: |
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40 |
let thistles grow instead of wheat,
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and cockle instead of barley.
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The words of Job are
ended. |
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