The Reading
Job 31
"I made a covenant with my eyes,
so how could I look closely upon a virgin?
And what is the portion of God from above
or the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
"If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
"If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor's doorway I have lain in wait,
let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.
Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
"If I have rejected my male or female slave's case
when their complaint was against me,
then what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
"If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or I have caused the widow's eyes to fail,
or I have eaten my morsel alone,
and the orphan has not eaten from it
(for from my childhood he grew up with me like a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided her),
if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or that there is no covering for the poor,
if his loins have not blessed me,
or by means of my sheep's fleece he has warmed himself,
if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless because of his majesty.
"If I have made gold my trust,
or I have called fine gold my security,
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or because my hand found a fortune,
if I looked at the sun when it shone
or at the moon moving in splendor,
and I was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss,
this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
"If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or have exulted when evil overtook him—
no, I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
Have the people of my tent not said,
'O that someone had not been satisfied with his meat'?
An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
Have I concealed my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
O that I had someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for the written communication that my adversary has written,
I would surely carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley."
The words of Job are ended.
Job 32
Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, became angry. He became angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God, and he became angry at his three friends because they had not found an answer, and they had declared Job guilty. Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak because they were older than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry.