1
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“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin? |
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2
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For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high? |
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3
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Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity? |
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4
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Does He not see my ways and count my every step? |
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5
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If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, |
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6
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let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. |
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7
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If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, |
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8
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then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. |
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9
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If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door, |
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10
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then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her. |
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11
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For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. |
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12
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For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. |
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13
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If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, |
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14
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what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? |
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15
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Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? |
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16
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If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, |
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17
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if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— |
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18
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though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— |
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19
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if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, |
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20
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if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep, |
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21
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if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate, |
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22
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then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket. |
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23
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For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower. |
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24
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If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, |
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25
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if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, |
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26
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if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, |
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27
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so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, |
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28
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this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high. |
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29
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If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him— |
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30
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I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse— |
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31
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if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’— |
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32
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but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler— |
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33
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if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart, |
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34
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because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside— |
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35
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(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment. |
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36
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Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. |
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37
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I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— |
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38
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if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, |
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39
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if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, |
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40
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then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job. |
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