1  “I have made a covenant with my ^meyes;

how then could I ⁿgaze at a virgin?

2  What would be my portion from God above

and my heritage from the Almighty on high?

3  Is not calamity for the unrighteous,

and disaster for the workers of iniquity?

4  Does not he see my ways

and ^onumber all my steps?

5  “If I have walked with falsehood

and my foot has hastened to deceit;

6  (Let me be ^pweighed in a just balance,

and let God know my ^qintegrity!)

7  if ^rmy step has turned aside from the way

and my heart has gone after my eyes,

and if any spot has stuck to my hands,

8  then ^slet me sow, and another eat,

and let what grows for me¹ be rooted out.

9  “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,

and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,

10  then let my wife grind for another,

and let others bow down on her.

11  For that would be a heinous crime;

that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;

12  for that would be a ^tfire that consumes as far as Abaddon,

and it would burn to the root all my increase.

13  “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,

when they brought a complaint against me,

14  what then shall I do when God rises up?

When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?

15  ^uDid not he who made me in the womb make him?

^vAnd did not one fashion us in the womb?

16  “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,

or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

17  or have eaten my morsel alone,

and the fatherless has not eaten of it

18  (for from my youth the fatherless² grew up with me as with a father,

and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow³),

19  if I have seen anyone perish for ^wlack of clothing,

or the needy without covering,

20  if his body has not blessed me,⁴

and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

21  if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

because I saw my help in the gate,

22  then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,

and let my arm be ^xbroken from its socket.

23  For I was in terror of calamity from God,

and I could not have faced his ^ymajesty.

24  “If I have made gold my trust

or called fine gold my ^zconfidence,

25  if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant

or because my hand had found much,

26  if I have looked at the ^asun⁵ when it shone,

or the moon moving in splendor,

27  and my heart has been secretly enticed,

and my mouth has kissed my hand,

28  this also would be an iniquity ^bto be punished by the judges,

for I would have been false to God above.

29  “If I have ^crejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,

or exulted when evil overtook him

30  (I have not let my mouth sin

by asking for his life with a ^dcurse),

31  if the men of my tent have not said,

‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’

32  (the sojourner has not lodged in the street;

^eI have opened my doors to the traveler),

33  if I have ^fconcealed my transgressions as others do⁶

by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

34  because I stood in great fear of the multitude,

and the contempt of families terrified me,

so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—

35  ^gOh, that I had one to hear me!

(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)

Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!

36  Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;

I would bind it on me as a crown;

37  I would give him an account of all my steps;

like a prince I would approach him.

38  “If my land has cried out against me

and its furrows have wept together,

39  if I have eaten its yield without payment

and made its owners breathe their last,

40  let thorns grow instead of wheat,

and foul weeds instead of barley.”