Job 29

29TH CHAPTER

Job Continues: My Glorious Past

¹Job continued his poems and said, 

²“If only my life could be like it used to be, 

in the days when God watched over me, 

³when he made his lamp shine on my head, 

when I walked through the dark in his light. 

⁴If only I were in the prime of my life ⸤again⸥, 

when God was an adviser in my tent. 

⁵When the Almighty was still with me 

and my children were around me, 

⁶my steps were bathed in buttermilk, 

and the rocks poured streams of olive oil on me. 

⁷When I went through the city gate 

and took my seat in the town square, 

⁸young men saw me and kept out of sight. 

Old men stood up straight out of respect ⸤for me⸥. 

⁹Princes held back ⸤their⸥ words 

and put their hands over their mouths. 

¹⁰The voices of nobles were hushed, 

and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. 

¹¹“⸤Any⸥ ears that heard me blessed me. 

⸤Any⸥ eyes that saw me spoke well of me, 

¹²because I rescued the poor who called ⸤for help⸥ 

and the orphans who had no one to help them. 

¹³I received a blessing from the dying. 

I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. 

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it was my clothing. 

I practiced justice, and it was my robe and my turban. 

¹⁵I was eyes for the blind person. 

I was feet for the lame person. 

¹⁶I was father to the needy. 

I carefully investigated cases brought by strangers. 

¹⁷I broke the teeth of the wicked person 

and made him drop the prey out of his mouth. 

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

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

¹⁹My roots will grow toward the water, 

and dew will lie on my branches all night. 

²⁰My 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. 

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

After all, my words fell gently on them. 

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

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

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

but the expression on my face did not change. 

²⁵I decided how they should live. 

I sat as their leader. 

I lived like a king among his troops, 

like one who comforts mourners.