Job 29
1 And Job adds to lift up his allegory and says:
Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said:
2 “Who makes me as [in] months past, As [in] the days of God’s preserving me?
O that I were as in months past, In the days when God was my guardian;
3 In His causing His lamp to shine on my head, By His light I walk [through] darkness.
When his lamp shined over my head, And when by his light I walked through darkness!
4 As I have been in days of my maturity, And the counsel of God on my tent.
As I was in the autumn of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;
5 When yet the Mighty One [is] with me. Around me—my young ones,
When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me;
6 When washing my goings with butter, And the firm rock [is] with me—streams of oil.
When I bathed my steps in milk, And the rock poured me out rivers of oil!
7 When I go out to the gate by the city, In a broad place I prepare my seat.
When I went forth to the gate by the city, And took my seat in the market-place,
8 Youths have seen me, and they have been hidden, And the aged have risen—they stood up.
The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged arose and stood.
9 Princes have kept in words, And they place a hand on their mouth.
The princes refrained from speaking, And laid their hand upon their mouth.
10 The voice of leaders has been hidden, And their tongue has cleaved to the palate.
The nobles held their peace, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 For the ear heard, and declares me blessed, And the eye has seen, and testifies [to] me.
When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.
12 For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who has no helper.
For I delivered the poor, when they cried; And the fatherless, who had none to help him.
13 The blessing of the perishing comes on me, And I cause the heart of the widow to sing.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, And I caused the heart of the widow to sing for joy.
14 I have put on righteousness, and it clothes me, My justice as a robe and a crown.
I clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed itself with me; And justice was my robe and diadem.
15 I have been eyes to the blind, And I [am] feet to the lame.
I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame;
16 I [am] a father to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out.
I was a father to the poor, And the cause of him I knew not I searched out;
17 And I break the jaw-teeth of the perverse, And from his teeth I cast away prey.
And I broke the teeth of the wicked, And plucked the spoil from his jaws.
18 And I say, I expire with my nest, And I multiply days as the sand.
Then said I, “I shall die in my nest; I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 My root is open to the waters, And dew lodges on my branch.
My root is spread abroad to the waters, And the dew abideth on my branches.
20 My glory [is] fresh with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.
My glory is fresh with me, And my bow gathereth strength in my hand.”
21 They have listened to me, Indeed, they wait, and are silent for my counsel.
To me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my word they do not change, And my speech drops on them,
To my words they made no reply, When my speech dropped down upon them.
23 And they wait for me as [for] rain, And they have opened wide their mouth [As] for the spring rain.
Yea, they waited for me as for the rain; They opened their mouths wide as for the latter rain.
24 I laugh at them—they give no credence, And do not cause the light of my face to fall.
If I smiled upon them, they believed it not; Nor did they cause the light of my countenance to fall.
25 I choose their way, and sit [as] head, And I dwell as a king in a troop, When he comforts mourners.”
When I came among them, I sat as chief; I dwelt as a king in the midst of an army, As a comforter among mourners.
