Job 29:18–25

18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,

my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

19 My roots will reach to the water,

and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

20 My glory will not fade;

the bow will be ever new in my hand.’

21 “People listened to me expectantly,

waiting in silence for my counsel.

22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;

my words fell gently on their ears.

23 They waited for me as for showers

and drank in my words as the spring rain.

24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;

the light of my face was precious to them.

25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;

I dwelt as a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners.

18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

19 My root was spread out by the waters,

And the dew lay all night upon my branch.

20 My glory was fresh in me,

And my bow was renewed in my hand.

21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited,

And kept silence at my counsel.

22 After my words they spake not again;

And my speech dropped upon them.

23 And they waited for me as for the rain;

And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not;

And the light of my countenance they cast not down.

25 I chose out their way, and sat chief,

And dwelt as a king in the army,

As one that comforteth the mourners.

18 “I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family

after a long, good life.

19 For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water,

whose branches are refreshed with the dew.

20 New honors are constantly bestowed on me,

and my strength is continually renewed.’

21 “Everyone listened to my advice.

They were silent as they waited for me to speak.

22 And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,

for my counsel satisfied them.

23 They longed for me to speak as people long for rain.

They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain.

24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them.

My look of approval was precious to them.

25 Like a chief, I told them what to do.

I lived like a king among his troops

and comforted those who mourned.

18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest,

And multiply my days as the sand.

19 My root is spread out to the waters,

And the dew lies all night on my branch.

20 My glory is fresh within me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 “Men listened to me and waited,

And kept silence for my counsel.

22 After my words they did not speak again,

And my speech settled on them as dew.

23 They waited for me as for the rain,

And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,

And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.

25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief;

So I dwelt as a king in the army,

As one who comforts mourners.

18 “I thought, ‘I will live for as many days as there are grains of sand,

and I will die in my own house.

19 My roots will reach down to the water.

The dew will lie on the branches all night.

20 New honors will come to me continually,

and I will always have great strength.’

21 “People listened to me carefully

and waited quietly for my advice.

22 After I finished speaking, they spoke no more.

My words fell very gently on their ears.

23 They waited for me as they would for rain

and drank in my words like spring rain.

24 I smiled at them when they doubted,

and my approval was important to them.

25 I chose the way for them and was their leader.

I lived like a king among his army,

like a person who comforts sad people.

18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand:

19 My root is spread out to the waters,

And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;

20 My glory is fresh in me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.

21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited,

And kept silence for my counsel.

22 After my words they spake not again;

And my speech distilled upon them.

23 And they waited for me as for the rain;

And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

24 I smiled on them, when they had no confidence;

And the light of my countenance they cast not down.

25 I chose out their way, and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king in the army,

As one that comforteth the mourners.

18 And I said, I shall die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand; 19 My root shall be spread out to the waters, and the dew will lie all night on my branch; 20 My glory shall be fresh in me, and my bow be renewed in my hand. 21 Unto me they listened, and waited, and kept silence for my counsel: 22 After my words they spoke not again, and my speech dropped upon them; 23 And they waited for me as for the rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. 24 If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and they troubled not the serenity of my countenance. 25 I chose their way, and sat as chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth mourners.

18 “I thought, ‘I may die in my own house, 

but I will make my days as numerous as the sand. 

19 My roots will grow toward the water, 

and dew will lie on my branches all night. 

20 My power will be fresh ⸤every day⸥, 

and the bow in my hand will remain new.’ 

21 “People listened to me eagerly, 

quietly waiting for my advice. 

22 After I had spoken, they wouldn’t speak again. 

After all, my words fell gently on them. 

23 They were as eager to hear me as they were for rain. 

They opened their mouths wide as if waiting for a spring shower. 

24 When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it, 

but the expression on my face did not change. 

25 I decided how they should live. 

I sat as their leader. 

I lived like a king among his troops, 

like one who comforts mourners. 

18 So I thought: I will die in my own nest

and multiply my days as the sand.

19 My roots will have access to water,

and the dew will rest on my branches all night.

20 My strength will be refreshed within me,

and my bow will be renewed in my hand.

21 Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my advice.

22 After a word from me they did not speak again;

my speech settled on them like dew.

23 They waited for me as for the rain

and opened their mouths as for spring showers.

24 If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;

they were thrilled at the light of my countenance.

25 I directed their course and presided as chief.

I lived as a king among his troops,

like one who comforts those who mourn.

18 Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,

and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;

19 my roots spread out to the waters,

with the dew all night on my branches;

20 my glory was fresh with me

and my bow ever new in my hand.’

21 “They listened to me and waited

and kept silence for my counsel.

22 After I spoke they did not speak again,

and my word dropped upon them like dew.

23 They waited for me as for the rain;

they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.

24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,

and the light of my countenance they did not extinguish.

25 I chose what they should do and sat as chief,

and I lived like a king among his troops,

like one who comforts mourners.

18 “And I thought, ‘I will pass away in my nest,

and like the phoenix I shall multiply my days.

19 My roots were open to water,

and dew spent the night on my branches;

20 My glory was new with me,

and I was revitalized regularly.’

21 “They listened to me and waited,

and they kept silent for my counsel.

22 After my word, they did not speak again,

and my word dropped down like dew upon them.

23 And they waited for me as for the rain,

and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.

24 I smiled for them when they had no confidence in anything,

and they did not extinguish the light of my face.

25 I chose their way, and I sat as head,

and I dwelled like a king among the troops,

like one who comforts mourners.

18 “I thought, ‘I’ll die in my own house.

The days of my life will be as many as the grains of sand.

19 My roots will reach down to the water.

The dew will lie all night on my branches.

20 I will remain healthy and strong.

My bow will stay as good as new in my hand.’

21 “People wanted to hear what I had to say.

They waited silently for the advice I gave them.

22 After I had spoken, they didn’t speak anymore.

My words fell gently on their ears.

23 They waited for me just as they would wait for showers.

They drank my words just as they would drink the spring rain.

24 When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it.

The light of my face lifted their spirits.

25 I chose the way they should go. I sat as their chief.

I lived as a king lives among his troops.

I was like someone who comforts those who are sad.

18 “Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

19 ‘My root is spread out to the waters,

And dew lies all night on my branch.

20 ‘My glory is ever new with me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 “To me they listened and waited,

And kept silent for my counsel.

22 “After my words they did not speak again,

And my speech dropped on them.

23 “They waited for me as for the rain,

And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.

24 “I smiled on them when they did not believe,

And the light of my face they did not cast down.

25 “I chose a way for them and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king among the troops,

As one who comforted the mourners.