I made a covenant with mine eyes; How then should I look upon a virgin?
2
For what is the portion from God above, And the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3
Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4
Doth not he see my ways, And number all my steps?
5
If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot hath hasted to deceit
6
(Let me be weighed in an even balance, That God may know mine integrity);
7
If my step hath turned out of the way, And my heart walked after mine eyes, And if any spot hath cleaved to my hands:
8
Then let me sow, and let another eat; Yea, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9
If my heart hath been enticed unto a woman, And I have laid wait at my neighbor's door;
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Then let my wife grind unto another, And let others bow down upon her.
11
For that were a heinous crime; Yea, it were an iniquity to be punished by the judges:
12
For it is a fire that consumeth unto Destruction, And would root out all mine increase.
13
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;
14
What then shall I do when God riseth up? And when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
15
Did not he that made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16
If I have withheld the poor from [their] desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17
Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the fatherless hath not eaten thereof
18
(Nay, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And her have I guided from my mother's womb);
19
If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering;
20
If his loins have not blessed me, And if he hath not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21
If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, Because I saw my help in the gate:
22
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.
23
For calamity from God is a terror to me, And by reason of his majesty I can do nothing.
24
If I have made gold my hope, And have said to the fine gold, [Thou art] my confidence;
25
If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gotten much;
26
If I have beheld the sun when it shined, Or the moon walking in brightness,
27
And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And my mouth hath kissed my hand:
28
This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judges; For I should have denied the God that is above.
29
If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, Or lifted up myself when evil found him;
30
(Yea, I have not suffered by mouth to sin By asking his life with a curse);
31
If the men of my tent have not said, Who can find one that hath not been filled with his meat?
32
(The sojourner hath not lodged in the street; But I have opened my doors to the traveller);
33
If like Adam I have covered my transgressions, By hiding mine iniquity in my bosom,
34
Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, So that I kept silence, and went not out of the door–
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Oh that I had one to hear me! (Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me); And [that I had] the indictment which mine adversary hath written!
36
Surely I would carry it upon my shoulder; I would bind it unto me as a crown:
37
I would declare unto him the number of my steps; As a prince would I go near unto him.
38
If my land crieth out against me, And the furrows thereof weep together;
39
If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, Or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:
40
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? who can shew forth all his praise?
3 Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
5 That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
6 We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
12 Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
24 Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word:
25 But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
26 Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:
27 To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
28 They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
32 They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
33 Because they provoked his spirit, so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them:
35 But were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.
36 And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
37 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,
38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.
40 Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
41 And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
45 And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.
47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.
48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.
