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- "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?
- "And what is the portion of God from above Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
- "Is it not calamity to the unjust And disaster to those who work iniquity?
- "Does He not see my ways And number all my steps?
- "If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hastened after deceit,
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- Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.
- "If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
- Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.
- "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor's doorway,
- May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.
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- "For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
- "For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.
- "If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,
- What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
- "Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?
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- "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
- Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it
- (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her),
- If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,
- If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
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- If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,
- Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
- "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
- "If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,
- If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so much;
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- If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor,
- And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
- That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.
- "Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him?
- "No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.
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- "Have the men of my tent not said, 'Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat'?
- "The alien has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.
- "Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
- Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
- "Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written,
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- Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown.
- "I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.
- "If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;
- If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
- Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.
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