Job 31 Comparison: Wycliffe Bible (1395) vs King James Version

Job 31

¹I made couenaunt with myn iyen, that Y schulde not thenke of a virgyn.

²For what part schulde God aboue haue in me, and eritage Almyyti God of hiye thingis?

³Whether perdicioun is not to a wickid man, and alienacioun of God is to men worchynge wickidnesse?

⁴Whether he biholdith not my weies, and noumbrith alle my goyngis?

⁵If Y yede in vanyte, and my foot hastide in gile,

⁶God weie me in a iust balaunce, and knowe my symplenesse.

⁷If my step bowide fro the weie; if myn iye suede myn herte, and a spotte cleuede to myn hondis;

⁸sowe Y, and another ete, and my generacioun be drawun out bi the root.

⁹If myn herte was disseyued on a womman, and if Y settide aspies at the dore of my frend; my wijf be the hoore of anothir man,

¹⁰and othir men be bowid doun on hir.

¹¹For this is vnleueful, and the moost wickidnesse.

¹²Fier is deourynge `til to wastyng, and drawynge vp bi the roote alle generaciouns.

¹³If Y dispiside to take doom with my seruaunt and myn hand mayde, whanne thei stryueden ayens me.

¹⁴What sotheli schal Y do, whanne God schal rise to deme? and whanne he schal axe, what schal Y answere to hym?

¹⁵Whether he, that wrouyte also hym, made not me in the wombe, and o God formede me in the wombe?

¹⁶If Y denyede to pore men that, that thei wolden, and if Y made the iyen of a wydewe to abide;

¹⁷if Y aloone eet my mussel, and a faderles child eet not therof;

¹⁸for merciful doyng encreesside with me fro my yong childhed, and yede out of my modris wombe with me;

¹⁹if Y dispiside a man passynge forth, for he hadde not a cloth, and a pore man with out hilyng;

²⁰if hise sidis blessiden not me, and was not maad hoot of the fleeces of my scheep;

²¹if Y reiside myn hond on a fadirles child, yhe, whanne Y siy me the hiyere in the yate;

²²my schuldre falle fro his ioynt, and myn arm with hise boonys be al to-brokun.

²³For euere Y dredde God, as wawis wexynge gret on me; and `Y myyte not bere his birthun.

²⁴If Y gesside gold my strengthe, and if Y seide to purid gold, Thou art my trist;

²⁵if Y was glad on my many ritchessis, and for myn hond foond ful many thingis;

²⁶if Y siy the sunne, whanne it schynede, and the moone goynge clereli;

²⁷and if myn herte was glad in priuyte, and if Y kisside myn hond with my mouth;

²⁸which is the moost wickidnesse, and deniyng ayens hiyeste God;

²⁹if Y hadde ioye at the fallyng of hym, that hatide me, and if Y ioide fulli, that yuel hadde founde hym;

³⁰for Y yaf not my throte to do synne, that Y schulde asaile and curse his soule;

³¹if the men of my tabernacle seiden not, Who yyueth, that we be fillid of hise fleischis? a pilgryme dwellide not with outforth;

³²my dore was opyn to a weiegoere;

³³if Y as man hidde my synne, and helide my wickidnesse in my bosum;

³⁴if Y dredde at ful greet multitude, and if dispisyng of neyyboris made me aferd; and not more Y was stille, and yede not out of the dore;

³⁵who yyueth an helpere to me, that Almyyti God here my desire? that he that demeth,

³⁶write a book, that Y bere it in my schuldre, and cumpasse it as a coroun to me?

³⁷Bi alle my degrees Y schal pronounce it, and Y schal as offre it to the prynce.

³⁸If my lond crieth ayens me, and hise forewis wepen with it;

³⁹if Y eet fruytis therof with out money, and Y turmentide the soule of erthetileris of it;

⁴⁰a brere growe to me for wheete, and a thorn for barli.

Job 31

¹I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?

²For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

³Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?

⁴Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

⁵If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;

⁶Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.

⁷If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;

⁸Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

⁹If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

¹⁰Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.

¹¹For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.

¹²For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.

¹³If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;

¹⁴What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

¹⁵Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

¹⁷Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

¹⁸(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

¹⁹If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

²⁰If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

²¹If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

²²Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

²³For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

²⁴If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence;

²⁵If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;

²⁶If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;

²⁷And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:

²⁸This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

²⁹If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him:

³⁰Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul.

³¹If the men of my tabernacle said not, Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.

³²The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.

³³If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:

³⁴Did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?

³⁵Oh that one would hear me! behold, my desire is, that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adversary had written a book.

³⁶Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.

³⁷I would declare unto him the number of my steps; as a prince would I go near unto him.

³⁸If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain;

³⁹If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life:

⁴⁰Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.