איוב לא

I have covenanted with my eyes
Not 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 me
As 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 sin
By 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.