Job 31:1  "I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes.

Job 31:2  So what can I expect from God? What do I deserve from God Almighty above?

Job 31:3  Isn't calamity reserved for the wicked? Isn't disaster supposed to strike those who do wrong?

Job 31:4  Isn't God looking, observing how I live? Doesn't he mark every step I take?

Job 31:5  "Have I walked hand in hand with falsehood, or hung out in the company of deceit?

Job 31:6  Weigh me on a set of honest scales so God has proof of my integrity.

Job 31:7  If I've strayed off the straight and narrow, wanted things I had no right to, messed around with sin,

Job 31:8  Go ahead, then-- give my portion to someone who deserves it.

Job 31:9  "If I've let myself be seduced by a woman and conspired to go to bed with her,

Job 31:10  Fine, my wife has every right to go ahead and sleep with anyone she wants to.

Job 31:11  For disgusting behavior like that, I'd deserve the worst punishment you could hand out.

Job 31:12  Adultery is a fire that burns the house down; I wouldn't expect anything I count dear to survive it.

Job 31:13  "Have I ever been unfair to my employees when they brought a complaint to me?

Job 31:14  What, then, will I do when God confronts me? When God examines my books, what can I say?

Job 31:15  Didn't the same God who made me, make them? Aren't we all made of the same stuff, equals before God?

Job 31:16  "Have I ignored the needs of the poor, turned my back on the indigent,

Job 31:17  Taken care of my own needs and fed my own face while they languished?

Job 31:18  Wasn't my home always open to them? Weren't they always welcome at my table?

Job 31:19  "Have I ever left a poor family shivering in the cold when they had no warm clothes?

Job 31:20  Didn't the poor bless me when they saw me coming, knowing I'd brought coats from my closet?

Job 31:21  "If I've ever used my strength and influence to take advantage of the unfortunate,

Job 31:22  Go ahead, break both my arms, cut off all my fingers!

Job 31:23  The fear of God has kept me from these things-- how else could I ever face him? If Only Someone Would Give Me a Hearing!

Job 31:24  "Did I set my heart on making big money or worship at the bank?

Job 31:25  Did I boast about my wealth, show off because I was well-off?

Job 31:26  Was I ever so awed by the sun's brilliance and moved by the moon's beauty

Job 31:27  That I let myself become seduced by them and worshiped them on the sly?

Job 31:28  If so, I would deserve the worst of punishments, for I would be betraying God himself.

Job 31:29  "Did I ever crow over my enemy's ruin? Or gloat over my rival's bad luck?

Job 31:30  No, I never said a word of detraction, never cursed them, even under my breath.

Job 31:31  "Didn't those who worked for me say, 'He fed us well. There were always second helpings'?

Job 31:32  And no stranger ever had to spend a night in the street; my doors were always open to travelers.

Job 31:33  Did I hide my sin the way Adam did, or conceal my guilt behind closed doors

Job 31:34  Because I was afraid what people would say, fearing the gossip of the neighbors so much That I turned myself into a recluse? You know good and well that I didn't.

Job 31:35  "Oh, if only someone would give me a hearing! I've signed my name to my defense--let the Almighty One answer! I want to see my indictment in writing.

Job 31:36  Anyone's welcome to read my defense; I'll write it on a poster and carry it around town.

Job 31:37  I'm prepared to account for every move I've ever made-- to anyone and everyone, prince or pauper.

Job 31:38  "If the very ground that I farm accuses me, if even the furrows fill with tears from my abuse,

Job 31:39  If I've ever raped the earth for my own profit or dispossessed its rightful owners,

Job 31:40  Then curse it with thistles instead of wheat, curse it with weeds instead of barley." The words of Job to his three friends were finished.