Job 29
International Standard Version
Job Wishes for the Old Days
29 Then Job continued with his discourse:
2 “I wish I could go back to how things were a few months ago;
when God used to watch over me,
3 when his lamp used to shine over my head,
so I could walk through the dark,
4 like when I was in my prime
and God trusted me with his secrets![a]
5 “The Almighty was still with me back then,
and my children were still around me.
6 I was successful wherever I went,[b]
and even the rocks poured out streams of olive oil for me.”
Job Remembers His Respected Position
7 “Whenever I went out to the city gate,
a seat had been reserved for me in the plaza.[c]
8 The young men would see me and withdraw,
and the aged would rise and stand.
9 Nobles would refrain from speaking,
covering their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the commanders-in-chief[d] were hushed,
and their tongues would cling to the roofs of their mouths.”
Job Remembers His Acts of Kindness
11 “When people heard me speak, they blessed me;
when people saw me, they approved me,
12 because I delivered the poor who were crying for help,
along with orphans who had no one to help them.
13 Those who were about to die blessed me,
and I made widows sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness like clothing;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15 I served as eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy;
I diligently inquired into the case of those I didn’t know.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked,
and made him drop the prey.”
Job Remembers His Previous Condition
18 “I used to say: ‘I will die in my home.[e]
I’m going to live as many days
as there are grains of sand on the shore.[f]
19 My roots have spread out and have found water,
and dew settles at night on my branches.
20 My glory renews for me
and my bow is as good as new in my hand.’
21 “They listened and waited for me,
as they remained in silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke, they had nothing to say,
when what I said hit them.
23 They waited for me as one waits for rain,
as one opens his mouth to drink in a spring rain shower.
24 I smiled at them when they had no confidence,
and no one could discourage me.
25 I set an example of the way to live,[g] as a leader would;
I lived like a king among his army;
like one who comforts mourners.”
Footnotes
- Job 29:4 Lit. God’s counsel was over my tent
- Job 29:6 Lit. When my feet were bathed in cream
- Job 29:7 Lit. square; i.e. he served as a ruling elder in his home city
- Job 29:10 Lit. Nagidim; i.e. senior officers entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
- Job 29:18 Lit. nest
- Job 29:18 The Heb. lacks on the shore
- Job 29:25 Lit. I chose their way
Job 29
Lexham English Bible
Job’s Final Defense
29 Then[a] Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “O that I were[b] as in the months before,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his shining lamp was over my head—
by his light I walked through darkness—
4 as when I was in the days of my prime,
when God’s confiding was over my house,[c]
5 when Shaddaiwas still with me,
my children were all around me,
6 when my paths were washed in sour milk,
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me.
7 “At my going out the gate to the city,
I secured my seat in the square.
8 Young men saw me and stepped aside,
and the aged rose up and stood.
9 Officials refrained from talking,
and they laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The voices[d] of nobles were hushed,
and their tongue stuck to their palate.
11 “When the ear heard and commended me,
and the eye saw and testified in support of me
12 because I saved the needy who cried for help,
and I saved[e] the orphan for whom there was no helper.
13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me,
and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 “I was eyes to the blind,
and I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
and I investigated the stranger’s[f] legal dispute.
17 And I broke the evil one’s jaw bones,
and I made his prey drop from his teeth.
18 “And I thought, ‘I will pass away in my nest,
and like the phoenix I shall multiply my days.
19 My roots were open to water,
and dew spent the night on my branches;
20 My glory was new with me,
and I was revitalized regularly.’[g]
21 “They listened to me and waited,
and they kept silent for my counsel.
22 After my word, they did not speak again,
and my word dropped down like dew upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24 I smiled for them when they had no confidence in anything,
and they did not extinguish the light of my face.
25 I chose their way, and I sat as head,
and I dwelled like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
Footnotes
- Job 29:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 29:2 Literally “Who shall give me”
- Job 29:4 Literally “tent”
- Job 29:10 Hebrew “voice”; collective singular by context, governing a plural verb
- Job 29:12 Supplying the elided verb from the preceding parallel line
- Job 29:16 Literally “the one I knew not”
- Job 29:20 See NJPS; literally “my bow in my hand was new”
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