Job 29
1 And Job continued his discourse:
Addidit quoque Iob, assumens parabolam suam, et dixit:
2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
Quis mihi tribuat, ut sim iuxta menses pristinos secundum dies, quibus Deus custodiebat me?
3 when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
Quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum, et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris?
4 when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent,
Sicut fui in diebus adolescentiæ meæ, quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo?
5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
Quando erat Omnipotens mecum: et in circuitu meo pueri mei?
6 when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
Quando lavabam pedes meos butyro, et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei?
7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
Quando procedebam ad portam civitatis, et in platea parabant cathedram mihi?
8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.
Videbant me iuvenes, et abscondebantur: et senes assurgentes stabant.
9 The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
Principes cessabant loqui, et digitum superponebant ori suo.
10 The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
Vocem suam cohibebant duces, et lingua eorum gutturi suo adhærebat.
11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
Auris audiens beatificabat me, et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi.
12 because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
Eo quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem, et pupillum, cui non esset adiutor.
13 The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
Benedictio perituri super me veniebat, et cor viduæ consolatus sum.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban.
Iustitia indutus sum: et vestivi me, sicut vestimento et diademate, iudicio meo.
15 I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.
Oculus fui cæco, et pes claudo.
16 I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
Pater eram pauperum: et causam quam nesciebam, diligentissime investigabam.
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
Conterebam molas iniqui, et de dentibus illius auferebam prædam.
18 So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.
Dicebamque: In nidulo meo moriar, et sicut palma multiplicabo dies.
19 My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.
Radix mea aperta est secus aquas, et ros morabitur in messione mea.
20 My glory is ever new within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’
Gloria mea semper innovabitur, et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur.
21 Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel.
Qui me audiebant, expectabant sententiam, et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum.
22 After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.
Verbis meis addere nihil audebant, et super illos stillabat eloquium meum.
23 They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.
Expectabant me sicut pluviam, et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum.
24 If I smiled at them, they did not believe it; the light of my countenance was precious.
Siquando ridebam ad eos, non credebant, et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram.
25 I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
Si voluissem ire ad eos, sedebam primus: cumque sederem quasi rex, circumstante exercitu, eram tamen mœrentium consolator.
