Job 29
1 addidit quoque Iob adsumens parabolam suam et dixit
And Job continued his parable and said,
2 quis mihi tribuat ut sim iuxta menses pristinos secundum dies quibus Deus custodiebat me
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;
3 quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris
When his lamp shone over my head, [and] by his light I walked through darkness;
4 sicut fui in diebus adulescentiae meae quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo
As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret counsel of God was over my tent,
5 quando erat Omnipotens mecum et in circuitu meo pueri mei
When the Almighty was yet with me, my young men round about me;
6 quando lavabam pedes meos butyro et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei
When my steps were bathed in milk, and the rock poured out beside me rivers of oil! ...
7 quando procedebam ad portam civitatis et in platea parabant cathedram mihi
When I went out to the gate by the city, when I prepared my seat on the broadway,
8 videbant me iuvenes et abscondebantur et senes adsurgentes stabant
The young men saw me, and hid themselves; and the aged arose [and] stood up;
9 principes cessabant loqui et digitum superponebant ori suo
Princes refrained from talking, and laid the hand on their mouth;
10 vocem suam cohibebant duces et lingua eorum gutturi suo adherebat
The voice of the nobles was hushed, and their tongue cleaved to their palate.
11 auris audiens beatificabat me et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi
When the ear heard [me], then it blessed me, and when the eye saw [me], it gave witness to me;
12 quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem et pupillum cui non esset adiutor
For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper.
13 benedictio perituri super me veniebat et cor viduae consolatus sum
The blessing of him that was perishing came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 iustitia indutus sum et vestivit me sicut vestimento et diademate iudicio meo
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was as a mantle and a turban.
15 oculus fui caeco et pes claudo
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame;
16 pater eram pauperum et causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam
I was a father to the needy, and the cause which I knew not I searched out;
17 conterebam molas iniqui et de dentibus illius auferebam praedam
And I broke the jaws of the unrighteous, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.
18 dicebamque in nidulo meo moriar et sicut palma multiplicabo dies
And I said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand;
19 radix mea aperta est secus aquas et ros morabitur in messione mea
My root shall be spread out to the waters, and the dew will lie all night on my branch;
20 gloria mea semper innovabitur et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur
My glory shall be fresh in me, and my bow be renewed in my hand.
21 qui me audiebant expectabant sententiam et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum
Unto me they listened, and waited, and kept silence for my counsel:
22 verbis meis addere nihil audebant et super illos stillabat eloquium meum
After my words they spoke not again, and my speech dropped upon them;
23 expectabant me sicut pluviam et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum
And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
24 si quando ridebam ad eos non credebant et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram
[If] I laughed on them, they believed [it] not; and they troubled not the serenity of my countenance.
25 si voluissem ire ad eos sedebam primus cumque sederem quasi rex circumstante exercitu eram tamen maerentium consolator
I chose their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth mourners.
