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.
34. I was never so afraid of what people might say or of making enemies that I kept my sins secret and avoided going out.
35. “How I wish someone would listen to me! I will sign my name to all I have said. Now let God All-Powerful answer me. Let him make a list of what he thinks I did wrong.
36. I would wear it around my neck. I would put it on my head like a crown.
37. Then I could explain everything I have done. I could come to God with my head held high like a prince.
38. “I did not use my land in a wrong way. I never caused it to suffer.
39. I always paid the workers for the food I got from the land. I never let any of them starve.
40. If I ever did any of these bad things, let thorns and weeds grow in my fields instead of wheat and barley!” Job’s words are finished.