Job 29
1 Addidit quoque Iob, assumens parabolam suam, et dixit:
Job spoke again,
2 Quis mihi tribuat, ut sim iuxta menses pristinos secundum dies, quibus Deus custodiebat me?
“I wish/desire that I could be like I was previously, during the years when God took care of me.
3 Quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum, et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris?
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 Sicut fui in diebus adolescentiæ meæ, quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo?
At that time I was young and strong, and because God was my friend, [he protected] [PRS] my tent.
5 Quando erat Omnipotens mecum: et in circuitu meo pueri mei?
Almighty [God] was with me during those years when all my children were around me.
6 Quando lavabam pedes meos butyro, et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei?
[My herds] provided me with plenty of milk, and streams of oil flowed from the rock where my olives were pressed.
7 Quando procedebam ad portam civitatis, et in platea parabant cathedram mihi?
“Whenever I went to [the place where the elders gathered at] the city gate, I sat down with them,
8 Videbant me iuvenes, et abscondebantur: et senes assurgentes stabant.
and when the young men saw me, they stepped aside [respectfully], and the old men [also] stood [respectfully].
9 Principes cessabant loqui, et digitum superponebant ori suo.
The leaders of the people stopped talking [DOU],
10 Vocem suam cohibebant duces, et lingua eorum gutturi suo adhærebat.
and even the most important men became quiet and ceased talking [MTY] [in order to hear me speak to them].
11 Auris audiens beatificabat me, et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi.
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 Eo quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem, et pupillum, cui non esset adiutor.
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 Benedictio perituri super me veniebat, et cor viduæ consolatus sum.
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 Iustitia indutus sum: et vestivi me, sicut vestimento et diademate, iudicio meo.
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 Oculus fui cæco, et pes claudo.
[It was as though] [MET] I was eyes for blind people and feet for people who were lame.
16 Pater eram pauperum: et causam quam nesciebam, diligentissime investigabam.
I was [like] [MET] a father to poor people, and in courts I defended those who were strangers.
17 Conterebam molas iniqui, et de dentibus illius auferebam prædam.
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 Dicebamque: In nidulo meo moriar, et sicut palma multiplicabo dies.
“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 Radix mea aperta est secus aquas, et ros morabitur in messione mea.
I was [like a tree] [MET] whose roots reach down into the water and whose branches become wet with dew each night.
20 Gloria mea semper innovabitur, et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur.
People always honored me, and I was always [strong like] [MET] a new bow.
21 Qui me audiebant, expectabant sententiam, et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum.
“When I spoke, people waited to hear [what I would say] and remained silent until I advised them [what they should do].
22 Verbis meis addere nihil audebant, et super illos stillabat eloquium meum.
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 Expectabant me sicut pluviam, et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum.
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 Siquando ridebam ad eos, non credebant, et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram.
When they were discouraged, I smiled at them [to encourage them]; they became encouraged when they saw that I approved of them.
25 Si voluissem ire ad eos, sedebam primus: cumque sederem quasi rex, circumstante exercitu, eram tamen mœrentium consolator.
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.”
