Job 29
1 And Job continued his discourse:
Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:
2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?
3 when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness.
4 when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent,
I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle.
5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me.
6 when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me.
7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me.
8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.
The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing.
9 The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth.
10 The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat.
11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me.
12 because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper.
13 The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban.
I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem.
15 I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.
I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently.
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth.
18 So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.
And I said, “I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days.
19 My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.
My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest.
20 My glory is ever new within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’
My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.”
21 Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel.
Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel.
22 After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.
To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them.
23 They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.
They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains.
24 If I smiled at them, they did not believe it; the light of my countenance was precious.
If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground.
25 I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to those who mourned.
