Job Chapter 29

¹ Job took up his discourse again:

² “Oh that I could be like I was just a few months ago

when God was watching over me,

³ when his lamp shined above my head

and I walked through darkness by his light,

⁴ while I was in the prime of life

and his friendship hovered above my tent,

⁵ when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

⁶ when my feet were drenched with cream

and the millstone poured out streams of olive oil for me!

⁷ when I went to the city gate

and took my seat in the town square.      

Job 29:1-7

⁸ Young men saw me and stepped aside,

old men stood up,

⁹ officials stopped talking

and put their hands over their mouths;

¹⁰ nobles’ voices got quiet

and put their tongues against their palates.

¹¹ When people heard me, they praised me;

when they saw me, they spoke well of me

¹² because I helped the poor that asked for it

and the orphan that had no advocate.

¹³ People about to die blessed me;

I made widows sing for joy.

¹⁴ I dressed in goodness;

justice covered me like a robe and turban.         

Job 29:8-14

¹⁵ I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.

¹⁶ I became a father to the needy

and helped strangers I didn’t know.

¹⁷ I broke the jaws of the wicked

and snatched the prey from their teeth.

¹⁸ Then I supposed, ‘I’ll die in my nest

and multiply my days like sand.

¹⁹ My roots reach out to the water;

dew lies all night on my branches.

²⁰ My honor is always fresh;

my bow stays new in my hand.’                           

Job 29:15-20

²¹ “They listened to me, waited,

and kept quiet to hear my advice.

²² When I spoke, they had nothing to add;

what I said was sufficient for them.

²³ They waited for me like spring rain

and drank in my words like fresh showers.

²⁴ I smiled at them when they weren’t sure what to do;

they valued my approval.

²⁵ I told them what course of action to take

and sat as their chief;

I lived like a king among his troops,

like somebody that comforted mourners.            

Job 29:21-25