29:1 Job continued his discourse:
29:2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
29:3 when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
29:4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
29:5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
29:6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
29:7 “When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
29:8 the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
29:9 the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
29:10 the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
29:11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
29:12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
29:13 The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.
29:14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
29:15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
29:16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
29:17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
29:18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
29:19 My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
29:20 My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.’
29:21 “Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
29:22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
29:23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
29:24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
29:25 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.
29:1 Then Job again took up his discourse and said,
29:2 Oh that I were as in the months of old, / As in the days when God watched over me;
29:3 When His lamp shone over my head, / And by His light I walked through darkness;
29:4 As I was in the days of my prime, / When intimate counsel with God was over my tent;
29:5 When the Almighty was yet with me, / And my children were around me;
29:6 When my steps were bathed in milk, / And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
29:7 When I went out to the gate of the city, / When I prepared my seat in the square,
29:8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, / And the aged rose up and stood.
29:9 Princes refrained from talking / And laid their hand over their mouth.
29:10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, / And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
29:11 For when the ear heard me, it blessed me; / And when the eye saw me, it bore witness to me;
29:12 Because I delivered the poor man who cried out, / And the orphan who had no one to help him.
29:13 The blessing of him who was perishing came upon me, / And I made the widow’s heart shout for joy.
29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; / My justice was like a robe and a turban.
29:15 I was eyes to the blind, / And I was feet to the lame.
29:16 I was a father to the needy, / And the cause of him whom I did not know I investigated.
29:17 I broke the jaws of the unjust / And made him drop the prey from his teeth.
29:18 Then I said, I will die in my nest, / And I will multiply my days like the sand.
29:19 My root is spread out to the water, / And dew abides on my branch at night.
29:20 My glory is always new with me, / And my bow is renewed in my hand.
29:21 Men listened to me and waited, / And they were silent for my counsel.
29:22 After my words they spoke not again, / And my speech distilled like dew upon them.
29:23 And they waited for me as for the rain, / And they opened their mouth wide as for the late rain.
29:24 I smiled on them ? they could not believe it; / And they did not cast down the light of my countenance.
29:25 I chose the way for them and sat as chief, / And I dwelt as a king among the troops, / As one who comforts those who mourn.