< Job 29 >
1 Job spoke again,
2 “I wish/desire that I could be like I was previously, during the years when God took care of me.
3 During those years, [it was as though] God’s lamp [MET] shone on me and gave me light while I walked in the darkness.
4 At that time I was young and strong, and because God was my friend, [he protected] [PRS] my tent.
5 Almighty [God] was with me during those years when all my children were around me.
6 [My herds] provided me with plenty of milk, and streams of oil flowed from the rock where my olives were pressed.
7 “Whenever I went to [the place where the elders gathered at] the city gate, I sat down with them,
8 and when the young men saw me, they stepped aside [respectfully], and the old men [also] stood [respectfully].
9 The leaders of the people stopped talking [DOU],
10 and even the most important men became quiet and ceased talking [MTY] [in order to hear me speak to them].
11 When they [SYN] all heard [what I told them], they said good things about me. When they [SYN] saw me (OR, what I had done), they commended me,
12 because I had helped the poor people when they cried out for help and I aided/helped orphans who had no one else to help them.
13 Those who were suffering and about to die praised [PRS] me, and I caused widows [SYN] to sing joyfully, [because of my helping them].
14 I always acted justly; my continually doing that was like [MET] a robe that I wore and a turban [that was wrapped around my head].
15 [It was as though] [MET] I was eyes for blind people and feet for people who were lame.
16 I was [like] [MET] a father to poor people, and in courts I defended those who were strangers.
17 My causing wicked people [to be unable to continue oppressing others was like] [MET] breaking the fangs [of fierce wild animals] and forcing them to drop from their teeth/mouths the animals that they had caught/seized.
18 “At that time I thought, ‘Surely I will live securely, until I am very old [SIM], and I will die at home [with my family].’
19 I was [like a tree] [MET] whose roots reach down into the water and whose branches become wet with dew each night.
20 People always honored me, and I was always [strong like] [MET] a new bow.
21 “When I spoke, people waited to hear [what I would say] and remained silent until I advised them [what they should do].
22 After I finished speaking, they did not say any more; [it was as though] [MET] my words fell on their ears [like refreshing drops of rain].
23 They waited for me [to speak] like they wait for rain; they [appreciated what I said] like [MET] [farmers appreciate] the final rain in the spring [before the dry season].
24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them [to encourage them]; they became encouraged when they saw that I approved of them.
25 I was their leader, and I decided what things [would be good for them to do]; I was among them like [SIM] a king who is among his troops; I was like someone who comforts [others] who are mourning.”
