Job 29

JOB’S FINAL CLAIM OF INNOCENCE

29Job continued his discourse, saying:

²If only I could be as in months gone by,

in the days when God watched over me,

³when his lamp shone above my head,

and I walked through darkness by his light!^k

⁴I would be as I was in the days of my youth

when God’s friendship^l rested on my tent,

⁵when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

⁶when my feet were bathed in curds

and the rock^m poured out streams of oil for me!

⁷When I went out to the city gateⁿ

and took my seat in the town square,

⁸the young men saw me and withdrew,

while older men stood to their feet.

⁹City officials stopped talking

and covered their mouths with their hands.^a

¹⁰The noblemen’s voices were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^b

¹¹When they heard me, they blessed me,

and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.^B

¹²For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.^c

¹³The dying blessed me,

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.

¹⁴I clothed myself in righteousness,^d

and it enveloped me;

my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.

¹⁵I was eyes to the blind

and feet to the lame.^e

¹⁶I was a father to the needy,

and I examined the case of the stranger.

¹⁷I shattered the fangs of the unjust^f

and snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹⁸So I thought, “I will die in my own nest

and multiply my days as the sand.^C

¹⁹My roots will have access to water,^g

and the dew will rest on my branches all night.

²⁰My whole being will be refreshed within me,

and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”^h

²¹Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my advice.

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

my speech settled on them like dew.ⁱ

²³They waited for me as for the rain

and opened their mouths as for spring showers.

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

they were thrilled at^A the light of my countenance.

²⁵I directed their course and presided as chief.

I lived as a king among his troops,

like one who comforts those who mourn.