Job 31 Clementine Vulgate
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 [Pepigi fœdus cum oculis meis, ut ne cogitarem quidem de virgine.
1 “I made a covenant with my eyes; how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?
2 Quam enim partem haberet in me Deus desuper, et hæreditatem Omnipotens de excelsis?
2 For what is the portion from God above, and the heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Numquid non perditio est iniquo, et alienatio operantibus injustitiam?
3 Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, and disaster to the workers of iniquity?
4 Nonne ipse considerat vias meas, et cunctos gressus meos dinumerat?
4 Doesn’t he see my ways, and count all my steps?
5 Si ambulavi in vanitate, et festinavit in dolo pes meus,
5 “If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot has hurried to deceit
6 appendat me in statera justa, et sciat Deus simplicitatem meam.
6 (let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity);
7 Si declinavit gressus meus de via, et si secutum est oculos meos cor meum, et si manibus meis adhæsit macula,
7 if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands,
8 seram, et alius comedat, et progenies mea eradicetur.
8 then let me sow, and let another eat. Yes, let the produce of my field be rooted out.
9 Si deceptum est cor meum super muliere, et si ad ostium amici mei insidiatus sum,
9 “If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 scortum alterius sit uxor mea, et super illam incurventur alii.
10 then let my wife grind for another, and let others sleep with her.
11 Hoc enim nefas est, et iniquitas maxima.
11 For that would be a heinous crime. Yes, it would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
12 Ignis est usque ad perditionem devorans, et omnia eradicans genimina.
12 for it is a fire that consumes to destruction, and would root out all my increase.
13 Si contempsi subire judicium cum servo meo et ancilla mea, cum disceptarent adversum me:
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me,
14 quid enim faciam cum surrexerit ad judicandum Deus? et cum quæsierit, quid respondebo illi?
14 what then will I do when God rises up? When he visits, what will I answer him?
15 Numquid non in utero fecit me, qui et illum operatus est, et formavit me in vulva unus?
15 Didn’t he who made me in the womb make him? Didn’t one fashion us in the womb?
16 Si negavi quod volebant pauperibus, et oculos viduæ expectare feci;
16 “If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 si comedi buccellam meam solus, et non comedit pupillus ex ea
17 or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (quia ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meæ egressa est mecum);
18 (no, from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, I have guided her from my mother’s womb);
19 si despexi pereuntem, eo quod non habuerit indumentum, et absque operimento pauperem;
19 if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or that the needy had no covering;
20 si non benedixerunt mihi latera ejus, et de velleribus ovium mearum calefactus est;
20 if his heart hasn’t blessed me, if he hasn’t been warmed with my sheep’s fleece;
21 si levavi super pupillum manum meam, etiam cum viderem me in porta superiorem:
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate;
22 humerus meus a junctura sua cadat, et brachium meum cum suis ossibus confringatur.
22 then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 Semper enim quasi tumentes super me fluctus timui Deum, et pondus ejus ferre non potui.
23 For calamity from God is a terror to me. Because of his majesty, I can do nothing.
24 Si putavi aurum robur meum, et obrizo dixi: Fiducia mea;
24 “If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence;’
25 si lætatus sum super multis divitiis meis, et quia plurima reperit manus mea;
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much;
26 si vidi solem cum fulgeret, et lunam incedentem clare,
26 if I have seen the sun when it shined, or the moon moving in splendor,
27 et lætatum est in abscondito cor meum, et osculatus sum manum meam ore meo:
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth;
28 quæ est iniquitas maxima, et negatio contra Deum altissimum.
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have denied the God who is above.
29 Si gavisus sum ad ruinam ejus qui me oderat, et exsultavi quod invenisset eum malum:
29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him
30 non enim dedi ad peccandum guttur meum, ut expeterem maledicens animam ejus.
30 (I have certainly not allowed my mouth to sin by asking his life with a curse);
31 Si non dixerunt viri tabernaculi mei: Quis det de carnibus ejus, ut saturemur?
31 if the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been filled with his meat?’
32 foris non mansit peregrinus: ostium meum viatori patuit.
32 (the foreigner has not camped in the street, but I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33 Si abscondi quasi homo peccatum meum, et celavi in sinu meo iniquitatem meam;
33 if like Adam I have covered my transgressions, by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 si expavi ad multitudinem nimiam, et despectio propinquorum terruit me: et non magis tacui, nec egressus sum ostium.
34 because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door—
35 Quis mihi tribuat auditorem, ut desiderium meum audiat Omnipotens, et librum scribat ipse qui judicat,
35 oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment!
36 ut in humero meo portem illum, et circumdem illum quasi coronam mihi?
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, and I would bind it to me as a crown.
37 Per singulos gradus meos pronuntiabo illum, et quasi principi offeram eum.
37 I would declare to him the number of my steps. I would go near to him like a prince.
38 Si adversum me terra mea clamat, et cum ipsa sulci ejus deflent:
38 If my land cries out against me, and its furrows weep together;
39 si fructus ejus comedi absque pecunia, et animam agricolarum ejus afflixi:
39 if I have eaten its fruits without money, or have caused its owners to lose their life,
40 pro frumento oriatur mihi tribulus, et pro hordeo spina.] Finita sunt verba Job.
40 let briers grow instead of wheat, and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
Cross references (39)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 James 1:14–15; Matthew 5:28–29; Psalm 119:37; 1 John 2:16; Proverbs 6:25
- 2 Job 20:29; Job 27:13; Hebrews 13:4
- 3 Job 21:30; Job 34:22; Matthew 7:13; Isaiah 28:21; Psalm 55:23
- 4 Job 34:21; Proverbs 5:21; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Job 14:16; Proverbs 15:3
- 5 Psalm 44:20–21; Proverbs 12:11; Psalm 12:2; Jeremiah 2:5; Ezekiel 13:8
- 6 Psalm 7:8–9; Daniel 5:27; 1 Samuel 2:3; Matthew 7:23; Isaiah 26:7
- 7 Numbers 15:39; Ecclesiastes 11:9; Matthew 5:29; Job 23:11; Psalm 44:20–21
- 8 Leviticus 26:16; Micah 6:15; Deuteronomy 28:38; Judges 6:3–6; Job 18:19
- 9 1 Kings 11:4; Judges 16:5; Ecclesiastes 7:26; Proverbs 2:16–19; Jeremiah 5:8
- 10 Jeremiah 8:10; Deuteronomy 28:30; 2 Samuel 12:11; Isaiah 47:2; Exodus 11:5
- 11 Leviticus 20:10; Job 31:28; Deuteronomy 22:22–24; Genesis 38:24; Ezekiel 16:38
- 12 Proverbs 6:27; Jeremiah 5:7–9; Hebrews 13:4; Job 26:6; Job 20:28
- 13 Leviticus 25:43; Deuteronomy 24:14–15; Exodus 21:20–21; Jeremiah 34:14–17; Leviticus 25:46
- 14 James 2:13; Psalm 44:21; Psalm 9:12; Zechariah 2:13; Psalm 10:12–15
- 15 Proverbs 14:31; Proverbs 22:2; Malachi 2:10; Job 34:19; Job 10:8–12
- 16 Deuteronomy 15:7–10; Isaiah 38:14; Lamentations 4:17; Deuteronomy 28:32; Galatians 2:10
- 17 Ezekiel 18:16; Nehemiah 8:10; Acts 4:32; Luke 11:41; James 1:27
- 19 Job 22:6; 1 John 3:18; Acts 9:39; Matthew 25:36; 2 Chronicles 28:15
- 20 Deuteronomy 24:13; Job 29:11
- 21 Job 22:9; Job 29:12; Ezekiel 22:7; Micah 7:3; Jeremiah 5:28
- 22 Job 31:40; Job 31:10; Psalm 137:6; Job 38:15; Joshua 22:22–23
- 23 Job 13:11; Psalm 119:120; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Psalm 76:7; Isaiah 13:6
- 24 Psalm 52:7; Deuteronomy 8:12–14; Proverbs 11:28; Psalm 49:6–7; 1 Timothy 6:10
- 25 Psalm 62:10; Deuteronomy 8:17–18; Jeremiah 9:23; Luke 12:19; Ezekiel 28:5
- 26 Ezekiel 8:16; Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3; 2 Kings 23:11; Jeremiah 8:2
- 27 Deuteronomy 13:6; Deuteronomy 11:16; Psalm 2:12; Isaiah 44:20; 1 Kings 19:18
- 28 Deuteronomy 17:2–7; Job 31:11; Psalm 50:6; Job 9:15; Joshua 24:27
- 29 Proverbs 24:17–18; Proverbs 17:5; Psalm 35:13–14; Obadiah 12; Psalm 35:25–26
- 30 1 Peter 3:9; Romans 12:14; Matthew 5:43–44; Matthew 5:22; James 3:9–10
- 31 1 Samuel 24:10; 1 Samuel 26:8; 2 Samuel 19:21–22; Job 19:22; Proverbs 1:18
- 32 Hebrews 13:2; Genesis 19:2–3; Judges 19:20–21; Romans 12:13; Matthew 25:35
- 33 Proverbs 28:13; Acts 5:8; Genesis 3:12; Hosea 6:7; 1 John 1:8–10
- 34 Exodus 23:2; Proverbs 29:25; Proverbs 24:11–12; Nehemiah 13:28; Exodus 32:27
- 35 Job 40:4–5; Job 13:21–22; Job 23:3–7; Job 13:3; Job 35:14
- 36 Isaiah 22:22; Isaiah 62:3; Exodus 28:12; Job 29:14; Philippians 4:1
- 37 Job 13:15; Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:15–16; Job 29:25; Job 42:3–6
- 38 Habakkuk 2:11; Psalm 65:13; James 5:4; Job 20:27
- 39 1 Kings 21:19; James 5:4; 1 Kings 21:13–16; Ezekiel 22:6; Isaiah 26:21
- 40 Genesis 3:17–18; Malachi 1:3; Psalm 72:20; Isaiah 7:23; Zephaniah 2:9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
And what is more, when he had them they were no joy to him: so he also declared, saying, "If I did so much as rejoice when my wealth waxed great:" wherefore neither did he grieve when it was gone.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
And if thou wouldest also hear of his strivings after continence, hearken to him when he saith, "I made a covenant with mine eyes, that I should not think upon a maid." For this cause his wife did not break his spirit, for he loved her even before this, not however immoderately, but as is due to a wife.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)