29:1 Then Job continued1 his speech:
29:2 “O that I could be2 as3 I was
in the months now gone,4
in the days5 when God watched6 over me,
29:3 when7 he caused8 his lamp9
to shine upon my head,
and by his light
I walked10 through darkness;11
29:4 just as I was in my productive time,12
when God’s intimate friendship13 was experienced in my tent,
29:5 when the Almighty14 was still with me
and my children were15 around me;
29:6 when my steps16 were bathed17 with butter18
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!19
29:7 When I went out to the city gate
and secured my seat in the public square,20
29:8 the young men would see me and step aside,21
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
29:9 the chief men restrained from talking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent,22
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job’s Benevolence
29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things,23 it blessed me,24
and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who25 had no one to assist him;
29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me,26
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;27
29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me,28
my just dealing29 was like a robe and a turban;
29:15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame;
29:16 I was a father30 to the needy,
and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
29:17 I broke the fangs31 of the wicked,
and made him drop32 his prey from his teeth.
Job’s Confidence
29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home,33
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.34
29:19 My roots reach the water,
and the dew lies on my branches all night long.
29:20 My glory35 will always be fresh36 in me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’
Job’s Reputation
29:21 “People37 listened to me and waited silently;38
they kept silent for my advice.
29:22 After I had spoken, they did not respond;
my words fell on them drop by drop.39
29:23 They waited for me as people wait40 for the rain,
and they opened their mouths41
as for42 the spring rains.
29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it;43
and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.44
29:25 I chose45 the way for them46
and sat as their chief;47
I lived like a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.48
Job’s Present Misery