Holy Bible: Easy-To-Read Version

Job 31:13-33 Holy Bible: Easy-To-Read Version (ETR)

13. “If I refused to be fair to my slaves when they had a complaint against me,

14. then what will I do when I must face God? What will I say when he asks me to explain what I did?

15. The one who made me in my mother’s womb also made them. God shaped us all inside our mothers.

16. “I have never refused to help the poor. I always gave widows what they needed.

17. I have never been selfish with my food. I shared what I had with orphans.

18. All my life I have been like a father to orphans and have taken care of widows.

19. Whenever I found people suffering because they didn’t have clothes or saw a poor man with no coat,

20. I always gave them something to wear. I used the wool from my own sheep to make them warm. And they thanked me with all their heart.

21. I never threatened an orphan, even when I knew I had support in court.

22. If I ever did that, may my arm be pulled from its socket and fall from my shoulder!

23. But I didn’t do any of these bad things. I fear God’s punishment too much. His majesty scares me.

24. “I have never trusted in riches. I never said even to pure gold, ‘You are my hope.’

25. I have been wealthy, but that didn’t make me proud. I earned a lot of money, but that is not what made me happy.

26. I have never worshiped the bright sun or the beautiful moon.

27. I was never foolish enough to worship the sun and the moon.

28. This is also a sin that must be punished. If I had worshiped them, I would have been unfaithful to God All-Powerful.

29. “I have never been happy when my enemies were destroyed. I have never laughed at my enemies when bad things happened to them.

30. I have never let my mouth sin by cursing my enemies and wishing for them to die.

31. The people in my house know that I have never let anyone go hungry.

32. I always invited strangers into my home so that they would not have to sleep in the streets.

33. I have not tried to hide my sins as some people do. I have never hidden my guilt.