1 I had made an agreement with my eyes not to linger on any virgin.
2 Now what portion does God allot from above, what fate does Shaddai apportion from his heaven-
3 if not the disasters appropriate to the wicked and the calamities fit for evil-doers?
4 But surely he sees how I behave, does he not count all my steps?
5 Have I been a fellow-traveller with falsehood, or hastened my steps towards deceit?
6 Let him weigh me on accurate scales: then he, God, will recognise my integrity!
7 If my feet have wandered from the rightful path, or if my eyes have led my heart astray, or if my hands are smirched with any stain,
8 let someone else eat what I have sown and let my young shoots all be rooted out.
9 If my heart has been seduced by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbour's door,
10 let my wife go and grind for someone else, let others have intercourse with her!
11 For I would have committed a sin of lust, a crime punishable by the law,
12 a fire, indeed, burning all to Perdition, which would have devoured my whole revenue.
13 If I have ever infringed the rights of slave or slave-girl in legal actions against me-
14 what shall I do, when God stands up? What shall I say, when he holds his assize?
15 Did he not create them in the womb like me, the same God forming us in the womb?
16 Have I been insensible to the needs of the poor, or let a widow's eyes grow dim?
17 Have I eaten my bit of bread on my own without sharing it with the orphan?
18 I, whom God has fostered father-like from childhood, and guided since I left my mother's womb,
19 have I ever seen a wretch in need of clothing, or the poor with nothing to wear,
20 without his having cause to bless me from his heart, as he felt the warmth of the fleece from my lambs?
21 Have I raised my hand against an orphan, presuming on my credit at the gate?
22 If so, let my shoulder fall from its socket, let my arm break off at the elbow!
23 For the terror of God would fall on me and I could not then stand my ground before his majesty.
24 Have I put my faith in gold, saying to fine gold, 'Ah, my security'?
25 Have I ever gloated over my great wealth, or the riches that my hands have won?
26 Or has the sight of the sun in its glory, or the glow of the moon as it walked the sky,
27 secretly stolen my heart, so that I blew them a kiss?
28 That too would be a criminal offence, to have denied the supreme God.
29 Have I rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune, or exulted when disaster overtook him? -
30 I, who would not allow my tongue to sin or to lay his life under a curse.
31 The people of my tent, did they not say, 'Will anyone name a person whom he has not filled with meat?'
32 No stranger ever had to sleep outside, my door was always open to the traveller.
33 Have I ever concealed my transgression from others or kept my fault a secret in my breast?
34 Have I ever stood in fear of common gossip, or dreaded any family's contempt, and so kept quiet, not venturing out of doors?
35 Will no one give me a hearing? I have said my last word; now let Shaddai reply! When my adversary has drafted his writ against me
36 I shall wear it on my shoulder, and bind it round my head like a royal turban.
37 I shall give him an account of my every step and go as boldly as a prince to meet him.End of the words of Job.
38 If my land cries for vengeance against me and its furrows weep in concert,
39 if I have eaten its produce without paying, and caused the death of its owners,
40 let brambles grow instead of wheat, rank weeds instead of barley!
Reading 1, Amos 6:1, 4-7: 1 Disaster for those so comfortable in Zion and for those so ... Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 146:7, 8-9, 9-10: 7 gives justice to the oppressed, gives food ... Gospel, Luke 16:19-31: 19 'There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen ... ... continue reading
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The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) is a Catholic translation of the Bible published in 1985. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has become the most widely used Roman Catholic Bible outside of the United States. It has the imprimatur of Cardinal George Basil Hume.
Like its predecessor, the Jerusalem Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) version is translated "directly from the Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic." The 1973 French translation, the Bible de Jerusalem, is followed only "where the text admits to more than one interpretation." Introductions and notes, with some modifications, are taken from the Bible de Jerusalem.
Source: The Very Reverend Dom (Joseph) Henry Wansbrough, OSB, MA (Oxon), STL (Fribourg), LSS (Rome), a monk of Ampleforth Abbey and a biblical scholar. He was General Editor of the New Jerusalem Bible. "New Jerusalem Bible, Regular Edition", pg. v.
