Job 29

Job’s Final Defense

Job continued his discourse:^a

“How I long for the months gone by,^b

for the days when God watched over me,^c

when his lamp shone on my head

and by his light I walked through darkness!^d

Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,

when God’s intimate friendship^e blessed my house,^f

when the Almighty was still with me

and my children^g were around me,^h

when my path was drenched with creamⁱ

and the rock^j poured out for me streams of olive oil.^k

“When I went to the gate^l of the city

and took my seat in the public square,

the young men saw me and stepped aside^m

and the old men rose to their feet;ⁿ

the chief men refrained from speaking^o

and covered their mouths with their hands;^p

the voices of the nobles were hushed,^q

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

Whoever heard me spoke well of me,

and those who saw me commended me,^s

because I rescued the poor^t who cried for help,

and the fatherless^u who had none to assist them.^v

Those who were dying blessed me;^w

I made the widow’s^x heart sing.

I put on righteousness^y as my clothing;

justice was my robe and my turban.^z

I was eyes^a to the blind

and feet to the lame.^b

I was a father to the needy;^c

I took up the case^d of the stranger.^e

I broke the fangs of the wicked

and snatched the victims^f from their teeth.^g

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

my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^h

My roots will reach to the water,ⁱ

and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^j

My glory will remain fresh^k in me,

the bow^l ever new in my hand.’^m

“People listened to me expectantly,

waiting in silence for my counsel.ⁿ

After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^o

my words fell gently on their ears.^p

They waited for me as for showers

and drank in my words as the spring rain.^q

When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;

the light of my face^r was precious to them.^s

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

I dwelt as a king^u among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners.^v