Summary
- Job painted many scenarios of his innocence; he searched his heart for any sins he might have committed and confident that there are none. He longed for God to answer him.
- Interesting in verse 1, he made a convenant or committment with his eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.
Job 31:1-40
[1]I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.
[2]What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?
[3]He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.
[4]God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.
[5]I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.
[6]Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.
[7]If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,
[8]then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.
[9]If I have been attracted to my neighbour’s wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,
[10]then let my wife cook another man’s food and sleep in another man’s bed.
[11]Such wickedness should be punished by death.
[12]It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.
[13]When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.
[14]If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?
[15]The same God who created me created my servants also.
[16]I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair
[17]or let orphans go hungry while I ate.
[18]All my life I have taken care of them.
[19]When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,
[20]I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.
[21]If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,
[22]then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.
[23]Because I fear God’s punishment, I could never do such a thing.
[24]I have never trusted in riches
[25]or taken pride in my wealth.
[26]I have never worshipped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.
[27]I have not been led astray to honour them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.
[28]Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.
[29]I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;
[30]I never sinned by praying for their death.
[31]All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.
[32]I invited travellers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.
[33]Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.
[34]I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.
[35]Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,
[36]I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.
[37]I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.
[38]If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners —
[39]if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve —
[40]then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow.The words of Job are ended.