31:6 then let God weigh me on honest scales. Then he will know I have done nothing wrong.
31:7 If I have turned away from doing what is right, or my heart has been led by my eyes to do wrong, or my hands have been made unclean,
31:8 then let other people eat what I have planted, and let my crops be plowed up.
31:9 “If I have desired another woman or have waited at my neighbor’s door for his wife,
31:10 then let my wife grind another man’s grain, and let other men have sexual relations with her.
31:11 That would be shameful, a sin to be punished.
31:12 It is like a fire that burns and destroys; all I have done would be plowed up.
31:13 “If I have been unfair to my male and female slaves when they had a complaint against me,
31:14 how could I tell God what I did? What will I answer when he asks me to explain what I’ve done?
31:15 God made me in my mother’s womb, and he also made them; the same God formed both of us in our mothers’ wombs.
31:16 “I have never refused the appeals of the poor or let widows give up hope while looking for help.
31:17 I have not kept my food to myself but have given it to the orphans.
31:18 Since I was young, I have been like a father to the orphans. From my birth I guided the widows.
31:19 I have not let anyone die for lack of clothes or let a needy person go without a coat.
31:20 That person’s heart blessed me, because I warmed him with the wool of my sheep.
31:21 I have never hurt an orphan even when I knew I could win in court.
31:22 If I have, then let my arm fall off my shoulder and be broken at the joint.
31:23 I fear destruction from God, and I fear his majesty, so I could not do such things.
31:24 “I have not put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security.’
31:25 I have not celebrated my great wealth or the riches my hands had gained.
31:26 I have not thought about worshiping the sun in its brightness nor admired the moon moving in glory
31:27 so that my heart was pulled away from God. My hand has never offered the sun and moon a kiss of worship.
31:28 If I had, these also would have been sins to be punished, because I would have been unfaithful to God.
31:29 “I have not been happy when my enemies fell or laughed when they had trouble.
31:30 I have not let my mouth sin by cursing my enemies’ life.
31:31 The servants of my house have always said, ‘All have eaten what they want of Job’s food.’
31:32 No stranger ever had to spend the night in the street, because I always let travelers stay in my home.
31:33 I have not hidden my sin as others do, secretly keeping my guilt to myself.
31:34 I was not so afraid of the crowd that I kept quiet and stayed inside because I feared being hated by other families.
31:35 (“How I wish a court would hear my case! Here I sign my name to show I have told the truth. Now let the Almighty answer me; let the one who accuses me write it down.
31:36 I would wear the writing on my shoulder; I would put it on like a crown.
31:37 I would explain to God every step I took, and I would come near to him like a prince.)
31:38 “If my land cries out against me and its plowed rows are not wet with tears,
31:39 if I have taken the land’s harvest without paying or have broken the spirit of those who worked the land,
31:40 then let thorns come up instead of wheat, and let weeds come up instead of barley.” The words of Job are finished.
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