Job 29

Job’s Past Was Glorious

1 Job again took up his ^adiscourse and said,

2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God ^bwatched over me;
3 When ^cHis lamp shone over my head,
And ^dby His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my youth,
When the ^eprotection of God was over my tent;
5 When ▼

▼Heb Shaddai

the Almighty was still with me,
And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in ^gcream,
And the ^hrock poured out streams of oil for me!
7 “When I went out to ⁱthe gate of the city,
When I ▼

▼Lit set up

took my seat in the public square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 “The leaders ^kstopped talking
And ^lput their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the prominent people were ▼

▼Lit hidden

, ⁿhushed,
And their ^otongues stuck to their palates.
11 “For when ^pan ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
12 Because I saved ^qthe poor who cried for help,
And the ^rorphan who had no helper.
13 “The blessing of the one who ^swas about to perish came upon me,
And I made the ^twidow’s heart sing for joy.
14 “I ^uput on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 “I was ^veyes to those who were blind,
And feet to those who ▼

▼Or limped

could not walk.
16 “I was a father to ^xthe poor,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
17 “I ^ybroke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
18 “Then I ▼

▼Lit said

thought, ‘I will die with my ▼

▼Lit nest

family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
19 ‘My ^abroot is spread out to the waters,
And ^acdew lies on my branch all night.
20 ‘My glory is ever new with me,
And my ^adbow is renewed in my hand.’

21 “To me ^aethey listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
22 “After my words ^afthey did not speak again,
And ^agmy speech dropped on them.
23 “They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 “I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at ▼

▼Lit the light of my face

my kindness ungraciously.
25 “I chose a way for them and sat as ^aichief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who ^ajcomforted the mourners.