Job 29
1 And Job adds to lift up his allegory and says:
Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 “Who makes me as [in] months past, As [in] the days of God’s preserving me?
“Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;
3 In His causing His lamp to shine on my head, By His light I walk [through] darkness.
when his lamp shone on my head, and 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 my prime, when the friendship of God was in 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 my steps were washed with butter, and the rock poured out streams of oil for me,
7 When I go out to the gate by the city, In a broad place I prepare my seat.
when I went out to the city gate, when I prepared my seat in the street.
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. The aged rose up and stood.
9 Princes have kept in words, And they place a hand on their mouth.
The princes refrained from talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The voice of leaders has been hidden, And their tongue has cleaved to the palate.
The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 For the ear heard, and declares me blessed, And the eye has seen, and testifies [to] me.
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it commended me,
12 For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who has no helper.
because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one 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 who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I have put on righteousness, and it clothes me, My justice as a robe and a crown.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
15 I have been eyes to the blind, And I [am] feet to the lame.
I was eyes to the blind, and feet 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 needy. I researched the cause of him whom I didn’t know.
17 And I break the jaw-teeth of the perverse, And from his teeth I cast away prey.
I broke the jaws of the unrighteous and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18 And I say, I expire with my nest, And I multiply days as the sand.
Then I said, ‘I will die in my own house, I will count my days as the sand.
19 My root is open to the waters, And dew lodges on my branch.
My root is spread out to the waters. The dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory [is] fresh with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.
My glory is fresh in me. My bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 They have listened to me, Indeed, they wait, and are silent for my counsel.
“Men listened to me, waited, and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my word they do not change, And my speech drops on them,
After my words they didn’t speak again. My speech fell on them.
23 And they wait for me as [for] rain, And they have opened wide their mouth [As] for the spring rain.
They waited for me as for the rain. Their mouths drank as with the spring rain.
24 I laugh at them—they give no credence, And do not cause the light of my face to fall.
I smiled on them when they had no confidence. They didn’t reject the light of my face.
25 I choose their way, and sit [as] head, And I dwell as a king in a troop, When he comforts mourners.”
I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners.
