Bible Stories: Job (Chapter XXXI)
What lot to man does God provide?
‘What to give? ’- How does He decide?
For unrighteous, is it not woe,
And misfortune, for Maker’s foe?
Does He not watch keenly my ways?
Does He not count my footstep’s pace?
Let God’s just scales weigh me for once,
Thus, He will know my innocence.
If I’d in falsehood ever walked,
And tongue in deceit ever talked!
If I’d at times, gone ev’r astray,
And heart had followed my eyes’ way…
If stained are hands of mine some way,
And I had lived a life all gay,
Then, may I sow to others eat,
And uprooted get plants out neat.
Had my land’s furrows ev’r complained,
That I took its produce afree,
Had I my tenants’ hearts aggrieved,
Let thistles, weeds grow aplenty!
Had I allowed my eyes scot-free,
And waited at my neighbor’s door;
Had woman’s thoughts enticed my heart,
And I reveled in maiden’s thought…
Then, let my wife work for the next,
And with her others cohabit;
Detestable are heinous crimes
Let fire burn my wealth all times.
Had I been to my maid unjust,
Or showed injustice to servants,
What should I do when God questions
How do I render my account?
Didn’t He who made me, make him too?
Didn’t He entire fashioning do?
If I’d been to the poor, selfish,
Or made the widow’s eyes languish…
While eating my portion alone,
Without sharing with an orphan,
Though from my youth, God had me reared,
And since my birth, He’d me guided.
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poem by John Celes
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