33“Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
         By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

34Because I feared the great multitude,
         And the contempt of families terrified me,
         And kept silent and did not go out of doors?

35“Oh that I had one to hear me!
         Behold, here is my signature;
         Let the Almighty answer me!
         And the indictment which my adversary has written,

36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
         I would bind it to myself like a crown.

37“I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
         Like a prince I would approach Him.

38“If my land cries out against me,
         And its furrows weep together;

39If I have eaten its fruit without money,
         Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

40Let briars grow instead of wheat,
         And stinkweed instead of barley.”
         The words of Job are ended.

NASB ©1995