^31:1 I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not even think of a virgin.
^31:2 For what portion would God have in me from above, and what inheritance the Almighty from on high?
^31:3 Is not perdition for the unjust man, and estrangement for those who work iniquity?
^31:4 Does he not consider my ways and number all my steps?
^31:5 If I have walked in vanity and my foot has hastened in deceit,
^31:6 let him weigh me in a just balance, and let God know my simplicity.
^31:7 If my step has turned aside from the way, if my heart has followed my eyes and a stain has clung to my hands,
^31:8 let me sow and another eat, and let my offspring be uprooted.
^31:9 If my heart has been deceived over a woman and if I have lain in wait at the door of my neighbor,
^31:10 let my wife be the harlot of another, and let others bend over her.
^31:11 For this is a crime and the greatest iniquity,
^31:12 a fire devouring even unto consumption and uprooting all shoots.
^31:13 If I have refused to undergo judgment with my manservant and my maidservant when they disputed against me.
^31:14 For what shall I do when the Lord God rises to judge, and when he asks, what shall I answer him?
^31:15 Did not he who made me in the womb also work him, and did not one form us in the womb?
^31:16 If I have denied to the poor what they wanted and made the eyes of the widow wait,
^31:17 if I have eaten my morsel alone and the orphan has not eaten from it.
^31:18 For from my infancy compassion grew with me, and from my mother’s womb it came forth with me.
^31:19 If I have despised one passing by because he had no clothing, and the poor man without covering.
^31:20 If his sides have not blessed me, and he was not warmed from the fleeces of my sheep.
^31:21 If I have lifted my hand against the orphan, even when I saw myself superior in the gate,
^31:22 let my shoulder fall from its joint and my arm with its bones be broken.
^31:23 For I have always feared God as waves swelling over me, and I could not bear his weight.

410. I made a covenant, etc. After Job had narrated his former prosperity and subsequent adversity, here he consequently shows his innocence, lest he be believed to have fallen into adversities because of sins. But he begins to show his innocence through immunity from the sin of lust, which ensnares many; and indeed this sin is set in a slippery place, so that, unless someone avoids the beginnings, he can scarcely draw back his foot from what follows;

but the first thing in this sin is the sight of the eyes, by which a beautiful woman is looked upon, and especially a virgin;

the second, however, is thought;

the third, delight;

the fourth, consent;

the fifth, the deed.

Therefore Job wished to exclude the beginnings of this sin so that he would not be ensnared by it, whence he says: I made a covenant, that is, I firmly established in my heart, as covenants are established, with my eyes, from whose sight, namely, concupiscence for women arises, to abstain from looking upon women in such a way that I would not even think of a virgin, that is, that I would not even touch the first interior degree, namely, thought: for he saw that if he fell into the first, namely, thought, it would be difficult not to slip into the others, namely, into delight and consent.

411. Then he shows why he avoided this sin with such solicitude,

and first indeed he assigns a reason from the fact that through the sin of lust man seems especially to depart from God: for man approaches God through spiritual acts, which are especially impeded by venereal pleasure, whence he adds: For what portion would God have in me from above? As though saying: God has a portion in me insofar as my mind is carried up to higher things; but if through lust my mind is cast down to carnal pleasure, God will have no portion in me from above. Now it sometimes happens that even the lustful think spiritually about God for a time, but soon, through the concupiscence of pleasure, they are called back to the lowest things; whence the portion of God in them cannot be firm, as an inheritance, and so he adds: and what inheritance, that is, firm possession, in me, namely, as one slipping down to lower things, would the Almighty have from on high?, that is, he who dwells on high; hence it is necessary that his inheritance be in those who seek sublime things, namely, spiritual things, and not in those who descend to carnal things.

Second, he shows the reason why he avoided the sin of lust from the harm that it inflicts on man, which is twofold: one is bodily, namely, when through the sin of lust man incurs danger to his person and possessions, whence he adds: Is not perdition for the unjust man? As though saying: the unjust man who is entangled in this sin goes to perdition. The other harm is an impediment to good works, whence he adds: and estrangement for those who work iniquity? For because vehement pleasure draws the soul more strongly to itself, it follows that men given over to lust depart from good works, and even from good preaching.

Third, he assigns the cause that he considers on the part of divine providence, which beholds all the deeds of men, and so no one can be immune from punishment, whence he adds: Does he not consider my ways, that is, the course of my works, in order to reward them? Nor does he know only the whole course, but also the individual parts of that course, whence he adds: and number all my steps? That is, he examines by his judgment all things, even small ones, that seem reprehensible in my acts, and thus I would not pass unpunished for them.

412. Second, he cleanses himself from the vice of deceitfulness, using in this and in all that follows a certain oath that is made by execration, namely, when a man, if what is said is not true, binds himself to punishment; whence he says: If I have walked, that is, if I have proceeded, in vanity, that is, in some falsehood: for those things are called vain that do not have solidity, but the greatest solidity is through truth. But how one walks in vanity he shows, adding: and my foot has hastened in deceit, that is, my affection and whatever other power of the soul is a principle of motion; but he says expressly, has hastened in deceit, because, namely, through certain deceitful ways a man intends quickly to obtain what would be obtained with great difficulty through the way of truth. But that someone walks without deceit can be considered from an inspection of the rectitude of justice, from which the deceitful man declines, whence he adds: let him weigh me in a just balance, namely God, so that by his justice it may be discerned whether I have proceeded in deceit. But since deceit consists especially in the intention of the heart, he alone can judge concerning deceit to whom the intention of the heart lies open, namely God; whence he adds: and let God know my simplicity, which, namely, is opposed to the duplicity of deceitfulness. But he says, let God know, not as though he were going to know it anew, but as though he were going to make others know it anew, or because in the reason of his justice he knew this from eternity.

413. And because he had excluded deceit from himself universally, he descends to certain special sins by which someone deceitfully lies in wait for the goods of another; and this indeed happens both in theft and in adultery. For in theft someone deceitfully lies in wait for things possessed by his neighbor, and he excludes this from himself, saying: If my step has turned aside from the way, namely, of justice, by contemning it; from this it follows that a man sees the things of his neighbor with a treacherous eye in order to seize them, whence he adds: if my heart has followed my eyes, that is, my desire, as though saying: if my eye has aimed at having what my heart desired;

third, it happens that a man, with justice contemned and his intention directed toward acquiring what his heart covets, applies his hand to seizing what belongs to another; whence there follows: and a stain has clung to my hands, namely, through the taking away of another’s thing. But it is just that, if someone seizes the goods of another, his goods should also be plundered by others, whence he adds: let me sow and another eat, as though saying: if I have seized the goods of another, let my goods be seized by others, which is an oath of execration. Now men are accustomed to seize what belongs to another in order to gather riches for their sons, according to Nahum 2:12: the lion caught enough for his cubs; and therefore it is just that for a man who seizes what belongs to another, not only should his own goods be plundered, but even his sons should die, whence he adds: and let my offspring be uprooted, for whom, namely, the plunder would seem to have been preserved.

414. But in adultery a man deceitfully lies in wait for the wife of his neighbor. In these snares a certain deception of the heart precedes, namely, when reason is darkened through concupiscence, whence he adds: If my heart has been deceived over a woman, namely, by desiring another’s wife; and once the heart is conquered by concupiscence for a woman, it follows that he strives by whatever deceits to have the woman he desires, whence he adds: and if I have lain in wait at the door of my neighbor, namely, so that I might misuse his wife. But one who pollutes another’s wife by adultery seems justly to be punished by having his own wife also polluted by others, whence he adds: let my wife be the harlot of another, namely, so that she may offer herself for sale to others; from this it follows that others misuse her, whence he adds: and let others bend over her, namely, by committing adultery. But why he avoided this sin he shows, adding: For this is a crime, because, namely, it is against the statute of God, who joined man and woman in marriage; and, if human justice is considered, it is the greatest iniquity, because, namely, the greater the good that is stolen, the greater the injustice:

for if someone were to steal an ox, the iniquity would be greater than if he were to steal a sheep, and so it is punished by a greater penalty, as is found in Exodus 22:1. But he who commits adultery takes away from another the greatest thing, namely, his wife, who is one flesh with him, and certain offspring, and consequently the whole succession of the patrimony, which because of adultery sometimes comes to a stranger; whence there follows: it is a fire, namely, adultery, devouring even unto consumption, because, namely, it defrauds a man of his whole patrimony, as has been said, and uprooting all shoots, namely, when it renders the succession of sons uncertain, whence it is said in Sirach 23:32: Every woman who leaves her husband will sin, establishing an inheritance from an alien marriage.

415. Thus, therefore, after he has cleared himself of injustice with respect to the fact that he did not do injury to others, either in seizing their goods or in misusing a person joined to them, he consequently excuses himself of not having incurred injustice through a defect of justice, whence he adds: If I have refused to undergo judgment with my manservant and my maidservant when they disputed against me, as though saying: if I have refused to render justice to my inferiors, let these and those grievous things happen to me. But why he did not refuse to undergo judgment with his servants he shows, adding: when the Lord God rises to judge, that is, when he whose judgment is now despised will appear as judge, I would have no one to whose help or counsel I might flee; nor could I even reasonably answer God in judgment, whence he adds: and when he asks, that is, when he examines my deeds, what shall I answer him, that is, what reason will I be able to give why I was unwilling to undergo judgment with my servants? As though saying: none. And he consequently shows this by the fact that naturally the condition of all men is the same, whence he adds: Did not he who made me in the womb also work him? As though saying: I have the same soul as my servants, created by God; my body also was formed by the same divine power, whence he adds: and did not one form us in the womb? Namely, God, who also formed him; and therefore it is manifest that God has concern for how I treat him.

416. Therefore, after he has shown that he was not lustful or unjust, he consequently shows that he was not without mercy; and indeed he shows this first from the fact that he did not withhold benefits from the miserable. Now some are accustomed, immediately from the beginning, to deny to a poor man asking alms what is asked, and he excludes this from himself, saying: If I have denied to the poor what they wanted; but some do not deny, yet they delay giving the gift, and he excludes this from himself, saying: and made the eyes of the widow wait; others, however, neither deny nor delay giving what is asked, yet they would give nothing from their own impulse, but he excludes this from himself by showing that he did not wish to use even small things alone without sharing them with others, whence he adds: if I have eaten my morsel alone and the orphan has not eaten from it, and it is understood: let these or those grievous things happen to me. But it must be considered that he speaks very expressly: for the poor are accustomed not only to ask but also to insist, whence the benefit of mercy is not withheld from them except by a denial in every way; widows, however, do indeed ask but are afraid to insist, and therefore unless help is given to them quickly, they are deprived of the benefit of mercy;

but orphans do not even dare to ask, whence it is necessary that mercy be bestowed upon them even when they do not ask. But why he was so merciful he shows from two things:

first indeed from the ancient custom that he began from boyhood, whence he adds: For from my infancy compassion grew with me; for the more he grew in years, the more he was exercised in works of mercy;

second, because he had a natural inclination toward mercy, just as different men are accustomed to have certain natural inclinations toward different virtues, whence there follows: and from my mother’s womb it came forth with me, because, namely, from his first begetters I was so disposed that I would be ready to show mercy.

417. Now there is usually a twofold impediment to mercy. The first of these is contempt for the miserable person, whom one does not consider worthy of pity: but those who are clothed in vile garments are commonly despised, and those who use precious garments are honored, whence it is said in Sirach 19:27 that the clothing of the body declares a man; but he excludes this impediment to mercy from himself, adding: If I have despised one passing by, that is, any stranger passing along the way, and the poor man, namely, one known to me, because he was without covering, understand: let these or those things happen to me. Nor did I only not despise the one lacking clothing, but I also provided clothing, whence he adds: If his sides have not blessed me, which, namely, I covered when they were uncovered, and thus they were the occasion that he blessed me; and he explains the reason for this, adding: and he was warmed from the fleeces of my sheep, namely, through the garments furnished to him, and the same must be understood as above.

But another impediment to mercy is confidence in one’s own power, from which it seems to a man that he can burden others with impunity, and especially inferior persons; and he excludes this from himself, saying: If I have lifted my hand against the orphan, namely, so that I might oppress him, even when they saw me in the gate, that is, in the place of judgment, as superior, that is, more powerful. Now it is just that a man be deprived of the members that he uses for injustice, and therefore he adds the loss, as a punishment, not only of the hand but also of the arm, in which the hand is rooted, and of the shoulder, to which the arm is joined, whence he adds: let my shoulder fall from its joint and my arm with its bones be broken, if, namely, I have abused my hand for the oppression of the poor. But he consequently shows why, although he was superior, he did not lift his hand against orphans: because, namely, even if he did not refrain on account of man, nevertheless he refrained on account of God, whose judgments he feared; whence he adds: For I have always feared God as waves swelling over me, and he speaks according to the likeness of those sailing at sea, who, when the waves swell above the height of the ship, fear lest they be submerged by them: similarly he feared the divine threats as swelling waves. And he also yielded to divine authority, by which the oppression of orphans is prohibited, whence he adds: and his weight, that is, the authority of God who protects orphans, I could not bear without, namely, bending myself before it.