Job 29
1 addidit quoque Iob adsumens 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 adulescentiae meae 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 adsurgentes 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 adherebat
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 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 viduae 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 vestivit 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 caeco 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 praedam
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 si quando 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 maerentium 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.”
