Job 31

I made a covenant with mine eyes, and I will not think upon a virgin.

ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗΝ ἐθέμην τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου καὶ οὐ συνήσω ἐπὶ παρθένον.

Now what portion has God given from above? and is there an inheritance [given] of the Mighty One from the highest?

καὶ τί ἐμέρισεν ὁ Θεὸς ἄνωθεν καὶ κληρονομία ἱκανοῦ ἐξ ὑψίστων;

Alas! destruction to the unrighteous, and rejection to them that do iniquity.

οὐχὶ ἀπώλεια τῷ ἀδίκῳ καὶ ἀπαλλοτρίωσις τοῖς ποιοῦσιν ἀνομίαν;

Will he not see my way, and number all my steps?

οὐχὶ αὐτὸς ὄψεται ὁδόν μου καὶ πάντα τὰ διαβήματά μου ἐξαριθμήσεται;

But if I had gone with scorners, and if too my foot has hasted to deceit:

εἰ δὲ ἤμην πεπορευμένος μετὰ γελοιαστῶν, εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐσπούδασεν ὁ πούς μου εἰς δόλον·

(for I am weighed in a just balance, and the Lord knows my innocence:)

ἕσταμαι γὰρ ἐν ζυγῷ δικαίῳ, οἶδε δὲ ὁ Κύριος τὴν ἀκακίαν μου.

if my foot has turned aside out of the way, or if mine heart has followed mine eye, and if too I have touched gifts with my hands;

εἰ ἐξέκλινεν ὁ πούς μου ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ, εἰ δὲ καὶ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ ἐπηκολούθησεν ἡ καρδία μου, εἰ δὲ καὶ ταῖς χερσί μου ἡψάμην δώρων,

then let me sow, and let others eat; and let me be uprooted on the earth.

σπείραιμι ἄρα καὶ ἄλλοι φάγοισαν, ἄρριζος δὲ γενοίμην ἐπὶ γῆς.

If my heart has gone forth after another man’s wife, and if I laid wait at her doors;

εἰ ἐξηκολούθησεν ἡ καρδία μου γυναικὶ ἀνδρὸς ἑτέρου, εἰ καὶ ἐγκάθετος ἐγενόμην ἐπὶ θύραις αὐτῆς,

then let my wife also please another, and let my children be brought low.

ἀρέσαι ἄρα καὶ ἡ γυνή μου ἑτέρῳ, τὰ δὲ νήπιά μου ταπεινωθείη·

For the rage of anger is not to be controlled, [in the case] of defiling [another] man’s wife.

θυμὸς γὰρ ὀργῆς ἀκατάσχετος τὸ μιᾶναι ἀνδρὸς γυναῖκα·

For it is a fire burning on every side, and whomsoever it attacks, it utterly destroys.

πῦρ γάρ ἐστι καιόμενον ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν μερῶν, οὗ δ᾿ ἂν ἐπέλθῃ ἐκ ῥιζῶν ἀπώλεσεν.

And if too I despised the judgment of my servant or [my] handmaid, when they pleaded with me;

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐφαύλισα κρίμα θεράποντός μου ἢ θεραπαίνης, κρινομένων αὐτῶν πρός με,

what then shall I do if the Lord should try me? and if also he should at all visit me, can I make an answer?

τί γὰρ ποιήσω, ἐὰν ἔτασίν μου ποιῆται ὁ Κύριος; ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ἐπισκοπήν, τίνα ἀπόκρισιν ποιήσομαι;

Were not they too formed as I also was formed in the womb? yea, we were formed in the same womb.

πότερον οὐχ ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ ἐγενόμην ἐν γαστρί, καὶ ἐκεῖνοι γεγόνασι; γεγόναμεν δὲ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ κοιλίᾳ.

But the helpless missed not whatever need they had, and I did not cause the eye of the widow to fail.

ἀδύνατοι δὲ χρείαν, ἥν ποτε εἶχον, οὐκ ἀπέτυχον, χήρας δὲ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν οὐκ ἐξέτηξα.

And if too I ate my morsel alone, and did not impart [of it] to the orphan;

εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν ψωμόν μου ἔφαγον μόνος καὶ οὐχὶ ὀρφανῷ μετέδωκα·

(for I nourished [them] as a father from my youth and guided [them] from my mother’s womb.)

ὅτι ἐκ νεότητός μου ἐξέτρεφον ὡς πατήρ, καὶ ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρός μου ὡδήγησα·

And if too I overlooked the naked as he was perishing, and did not clothe him;

εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑπερεῖδον γυμνὸν ἀπολλύμενον καὶ οὐκ ἠμφίασα αὐτόν,

and if the poor did not bless me, and their shoulders were [not] warmed with the fleece of my lambs;

ἀδύνατοι δὲ εἰ μὴ εὐλόγησάν με, ἀπὸ δὲ κουρᾶς ἀμνῶν μου ἐθερμάνθησαν οἱ ὦμοι αὐτῶν·

if I lifted my hand against an orphan, trusting that my strength was far superior [to his]:

εἰ ἐπῇρα ὀρφανῷ χεῖρα, πεποιθὼς ὅτι πολλή μοι βοήθεια περίεστιν,

let then my shoulder start from the blade-bone, and my arm be crushed off from the elbow.

ἀποσταίη ἄρα ὁ ὦμός μου ἀπὸ τῆς κλειδός, ὁ δὲ βραχίων μου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγκῶνος συντριβείη.

For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and I cannot bear up by reason of his burden.

φόβος γὰρ Κυρίου συνέσχε με, ἀπὸ τοῦ λήμματος αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὑποίσω.

If I made gold my treasure, and if too I trusted the precious stone;

εἰ ἔταξα χρυσίον εἰς χοῦν μου, εἰ δὲ καὶ λίθῳ πολυτελεῖ ἐπεποίθησα,

and if too I rejoiced when my wealth was abundant, and if too I laid my hand on innumerable [treasures]:

εἰ δὲ καὶ εὐφράνθην πολλοῦ πλούτου μοι γενομένου, εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἀναριθμήτοις ἐθέμην χεῖρά μου·

(do we not see the shining sun eclipsed, and the moon waning? for they have not [power to continue]:)

ἦ οὐχ ὁρῶ μὲν ἥλιον τὸν ἐπιφαύσκοντα ἐκλείποντα, σελήνην δὲ φθίνουσαν; οὐ γὰρ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ἐστιν.

and if my heart was secretly deceived, and if I have laid my hand upon my mouth and kissed it:

καὶ εἰ ἠπατήθη λάθρᾳ ἡ καρδία μου, εἰ δὲ χεῖρά μου ἐπιθεὶς ἐπὶ στόματί μου ἐφίλησα,

let this also then be reckoned to me as the greatest iniquity: for I [should] have lied against the Lord Most High.

καὶ τοῦτό μοι ἄρα ἀνομία ἡ μεγίστη λογισθείη, ὅτι ἐψευσάμην ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ ῾Υψίστου.

And if too I was glad at the fall of mine enemies, and mine heart said, Aha!

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιχαρὴς ἐγενόμην πτώματι ἐχθρῶν μου καὶ εἶπεν ἡ καρδία μου· εὖγε,

let then mine ear hear my curse, and let me be a byword among my people in my affliction.

ἀκούσαι ἄρα τὸ οὖς μου τὴν κατάραν μου, θρυλληθείην δὲ ἄρα ὑπὸ λαοῦ μου κακούμενος.

And if too my handmaids have often said, Oh that we might be satisfied with his flesh; (whereas I was very kind:

εἰ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις εἶπον αἱ θαράπαιναί μου· τίς ἂν δῴη ἡμῖν τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ πλησθῆναι; λίαν μου χρηστοῦ ὄντος·

for the stranger did not lodge without, and my door was opened to every one that came:)

ἔξω δὲ οὐκ ηὐλίζετο ξένος, ἡ δὲ θύρα μου παντὶ ἐλθόντι ἀνέῳκτο.

or if too having sinned unintentionally, I hid my sin;

εἰ δὲ καὶ ἁμαρτὼν ἀκουσίως ἔκρυψα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μου,

(for I did not stand in awe of a great multitude, so as not to declare boldly before them:) and if too I permitted a poor man to go out of my door with an empty bosom:

οὐ γὰρ διετράπην πολυοχλίαν πλήθους τοῦ μὴ ἐξαγορεῦσαι ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν· εἰ δὲ καὶ εἴασα ἀδύνατον ἐξελθεῖν θύραν μου κόλπῳ κενῷ,

(Oh that I had a hearer,) and if I had not feared the hand of the Lord; and [as to] the written charge which I had against any one,

τίς δῴη ἀκούοντά μου; χεῖρα δὲ Κυρίου εἰ μὴ ἐδεδοίκειν, συγγραφὴν δέ, ἣν εἶχον κατά τινος,

I would place [it] as a chaplet on my shoulders, and read it.

ἐπ᾿ ὤμοις ἂν περιθέμενος στέφανον ἀνεγίνωσκον,

And if I did not read it and return it, having taken nothing from the debtor:

καὶ εἰ μὴ ρήξας αὐτὴν ἀπέδωκα, οὐθὲν λαβὼν παρὰ χρεωφειλέτου·

If at any time the land groaned against me, and if its furrows mourned together;

εἰ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοί ποτε ἡ γῆ ἐστέναξεν, εἰ δὲ καὶ οἱ αὔλακες αὐτῆς ἔκλαυσαν ὁμοθυμαδόν,

and if I ate its strength alone without price, and if I too grieved the heart of the owner of the soil, by taking [aught] from [him]:

εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῆς ἔφαγον μόνος ἄνευ τιμῆς, εἰ δὲ καὶ ψυχὴν κυρίου τῆς γῆς ἐκβαλὼν ἐλύπησα,

then let the nettle come up to me instead of wheat, and a bramble instead of barley. And Job ceased speaking.

ἀντὶ πυροῦ ἄρα ἐξέλθοι μοι κνίδη, ἀντὶ δὲ κριθῆς βάτος. καὶ ἐπαύσατο ᾿Ιὼβ ρήμασιν.