31
Job stated his innocence
1 “I solemnly promised myself
that I would not look at a young woman with a desire to have sex with her.
2 If I did not do what I promised,
what would God who is in heaven [MTY] do to me [RHQ]?
Almighty God would certainly not [RHQ] give me any reward!
3 Previously I thought that surely [RHQ] it was unrighteous people who would experience calamities,
and that it was those who do what is wrong who would experience disasters.
4 God certainly sees [RHQ] everything that I do,
so why is he causing me to suffer?
It is as though he counts every step that I take.
5 “I solemnly declare that I have never acted wickedly
and have never tried to deceive people.
6 I request only that God judge me fairly [MET],
and if he does that, he will know that I ◄am innocent/have not done what is wrong►.
7 If it were true that I have stopped living righteously,
or that I [SYN] have desired the things that I look at [MTY],
or that I am guilty of any other sin,
8 then I hope/wish that when I plant seeds, someone else will harvest the crops and eat them
and that others will uproot the fruit trees that I planted.
9 “If it were true that I [SYN] have been attracted by some other man’s wife,
or that I have hidden myself and waited outside the door to her house,
10 I hope/desire that my wife will become the servant/slave of another man
and have sex [EUP] with him.
11 For me to do that would be a terrible sin,
and the judges would decide that I should be punished.
12 My committing adultery would produce in me a fire like [MET] the fire that burns people in hell,
and it would burn up everything that I own.
13 “And, if it were true that I have ever refused to listen to one of my male or female servants
when they complained to me about something,
14 God would arise and declare that he would punish me;
and when he would do that, what would I do?
If he would ask me about what I have done, ◄what would I answer?/I would not be able to answer.► [RHQ]
15 God, who created me, certainly also created my servants [RHQ];
surely he is the one who formed them and me in our mothers’ wombs [RHQ];
so we all should behave toward each other equally.
16-18 “I have guided orphans from the time that they were born;
I have taken care of them since they were young.
So, if it were true that I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans,
or that I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted,
or that I caused widows to live ◄in despair/without hope that they would receive any help from anyone►,
19 or that I had seen people die from cold because they had no clothes,
or that I had seen poor people who did not have clothes to keep them warm,
20 and they were not able to become warm from clothes made from the wool of my sheep
with the result that they thanked me for giving them clothes,
21 or if it were true that I threatened to strike any orphan
because I knew that the elders at the city gates would ◄decide in my favor►;
22 if those things were true about me, I hope/desire that my shoulder blade would be torn out
and my arm be torn from my shoulder.
23 I always feared that God would cause me to experience a great disaster if I did any of those evil things,
and I would not have been able to endure the powerful things that he would do to punish me.
24 “If it were true that I trusted in my gold/money [DOU],
25 or that I rejoiced because I had acquired many things
and had become very rich,
26 or that I looked at the sun when it was shining
or looked at the beautiful moon
27 and I [SYN] had been tempted to worship them
by kissing my hand to revere them,
28 those things also would be sins for which the judges would say that I must be punished,
because I would have been rejecting God by doing those things.
29-30 “It is not true that I [SYN] sinned by requesting God to curse people who hated me
with the result that God would cause them to die.
It is also not true that I was glad when they were ruined
or that I rejoiced when they experienced disasters [DOU].
31-32 It is also not true that I never welcomed travelers to stay in my tent
or that I did not open my doors to them, but forced them to sleep in the streets.
All the men who work for me certainly know that [RHQ]!
33 Some people try to hide their sins,
but I have never done that;
34 and I never remained silent and refused to go outside of my home
because I was very ◄afraid of/worried about► what people would say about me,
and that they would hate/scorn me.
35 “I wish/desire that there was someone who would hear what I am saying!
I solemnly declare that all that I have said is true.
I wish that those who oppose me would write down on a scroll the evil things that they say that I did.
36 If they did that, I would wear that scroll on my shoulder, or wear it on top of my head, in order that everyone could see it.
37 I would tell God everything that I have done,
and I would approach him confidently, like a ruler would.
38 If it were true that I have stolen land,
with the result that it was as though its furrows cried out to accuse me of stealing;
39 or if it were true that I have eaten the crops that grew in someone else’s fields
without paying for those crops,
with the result that those farmers who grew those crops died from hunger;
40 then I wish/desire that thorns would grow in my fields instead of wheat.
May bad weeds grow instead of barley!”
That is the end of what Job said to his three friends.