Job 29
1 Y VOLVIÓ Job á tomar su propósito, y dijo:
Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:
2 ¡Quién me tornase como en los meses pasados, como en los días que Dios me guardaba,
Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?
3 Cuando hacía resplandecer su candela sobre mi cabeza, á la luz de la cual yo caminaba en la oscuridad;
At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness.
4 Como fué en los días de mi mocedad, cuando el secreto de Dios estaba en mi tienda;
I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle.
5 Cuando aun el Omnipotente estaba conmigo, y mis hijos alrededor de mí;
At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me.
6 Cuando lavaba yo mis caminos con manteca, y la piedra me derramaba ríos de aceite!
Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me.
7 Cuando salía á la puerta á juicio, y en la plaza hacía preparar mi asiento,
When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me.
8 Los mozos me veían, y se escondían; y los viejos se levantaban, y estaban en pie;
The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing.
9 Los príncipes detenían sus palabras, ponían la mano sobre su boca;
The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth.
10 La voz de los principales se ocultaba, y su lengua se pegaba á su paladar:
The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat.
11 Cuando los oídos que me oían, me llamaban bienaventurado, y los ojos que me veían, me daban testimonio:
The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me.
12 Porque libraba al pobre que gritaba, y al huérfano que carecía de ayudador.
This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper.
13 La bendición del que se iba á perder venía sobre mí; y al corazón de la viuda daba alegría.
The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow.
14 Vestíame de justicia, y ella me vestía como un manto; y mi toca era juicio.
I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem.
15 Yo era ojos al ciego, y pies al cojo.
I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame.
16 A los menesterosos era padre; y de la causa que no entendía, me informaba con diligencia:
I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently.
17 Y quebraba los colmillos del inicuo, y de sus dientes hacía soltar la presa.
I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth.
18 Y decía yo: En mi nido moriré, y como arena multiplicaré días.
And I said, “I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days.
19 Mi raíz estaba abierta junto á las aguas, y en mis ramas permanecía el rocío.
My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest.
20 Mi honra se renovaba en mí, y mi arco se corroboraba en mi mano.
My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.”
21 Oíanme, y esperaban; y callaban á mi consejo.
Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel.
22 Tras mi palabra no replicaban, y mi razón destilaba sobre ellos.
To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them.
23 Y esperábanme como á la lluvia, y abrían su boca [como] á la lluvia tardía.
They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains.
24 Si me reía con ellos, no lo creían: y no abatían la luz de mi rostro.
If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground.
25 Calificaba yo el camino de ellos, y sentábame en cabecera; y moraba como rey en el ejército, como el que consuela llorosos.
If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to those who mourned.
