Job 29
New King James Version
Job’s Summary Defense
29 Job further continued his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in months (A)past,
As in the days when God (B)watched over me;
3 (C)When His lamp shone upon my head,
And when by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my prime,
When (D)the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me,
When my children were around me;
6 When (E)my steps were bathed with [a]cream,
And (F)the rock poured out rivers of oil for me!
7 “When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
8 The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood;
9 The princes refrained from talking,
And (G)put their hand on their mouth;
10 The voice of nobles was hushed,
And their (H)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me,
And when the eye saw, then it approved me;
12 Because (I)I delivered the poor who cried out,
The fatherless and the one who had no helper.
13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me,
And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 (J)I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was (K)eyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
And (L)I searched out the case that I did not know.
17 I broke (M)the fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.
18 “Then I said, (N)‘I shall die in my nest,
And multiply my days as the sand.
19 (O)My root is spread out (P)to the waters,
And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is fresh within me,
And my (Q)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited,
And kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech settled on them as dew.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And they opened their mouth wide as for (R)the spring rain.
24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,
And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.
25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief;
So I dwelt as a king in the army,
As one who comforts mourners.
Job 29
Louis Segond
29 Job prit de nouveau la parole sous forme sentencieuse et dit:
2 Oh! que ne puis-je être comme aux mois du passé, Comme aux jours où Dieu me gardait,
3 Quand sa lampe brillait sur ma tête, Et que sa lumière me guidait dans les ténèbres!
4 Que ne suis-je comme aux jours de ma vigueur, Où Dieu veillait en ami sur ma tente,
5 Quand le Tout Puissant était encore avec moi, Et que mes enfants m'entouraient;
6 Quand mes pieds se baignaient dans la crème Et que le rocher répandait près de moi des ruisseaux d'huile!
7 Si je sortais pour aller à la porte de la ville, Et si je me faisais préparer un siège dans la place,
8 Les jeunes gens se retiraient à mon approche, Les vieillards se levaient et se tenaient debout.
9 Les princes arrêtaient leurs discours, Et mettaient la main sur leur bouche;
10 La voix des chefs se taisait, Et leur langue s'attachait à leur palais.
11 L'oreille qui m'entendait me disait heureux, L'oeil qui me voyait me rendait témoignage;
12 Car je sauvais le pauvre qui implorait du secours, Et l'orphelin qui manquait d'appui.
13 La bénédiction du malheureux venait sur moi; Je remplissais de joie le coeur de la veuve.
14 Je me revêtais de la justice et je lui servais de vêtement, J'avais ma droiture pour manteau et pour turban.
15 J'étais l'oeil de l'aveugle Et le pied du boiteux.
16 J'étais le père des misérables, J'examinais la cause de l'inconnu;
17 Je brisais la mâchoire de l'injuste, Et j'arrachais de ses dents la proie.
18 Alors je disais: Je mourrai dans mon nid, Mes jours seront abondants comme le sable;
19 L'eau pénétrera dans mes racines, La rosée passera la nuit sur mes branches;
20 Ma gloire reverdira sans cesse, Et mon arc rajeunira dans ma main.
21 On m'écoutait et l'on restait dans l'attente, On gardait le silence devant mes conseils.
22 Après mes discours, nul ne répliquait, Et ma parole était pour tous une bienfaisante rosée;
23 Ils comptaient sur moi comme sur la pluie, Ils ouvraient la bouche comme pour une pluie du printemps.
24 Je leur souriais quand ils perdaient courage, Et l'on ne pouvait chasser la sérénité de mon front.
25 J'aimais à aller vers eux, et je m'asseyais à leur tête; J'étais comme un roi au milieu d'une troupe, Comme un consolateur auprès des affligés.
Job 29
English Standard Version
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his (B)lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,[a]
when the (C)friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my (D)children were all around me,
6 when my steps were (E)washed with (F)butter,
and (G)the rock poured out for me streams of (H)oil!
7 When I went out to (I)the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and (J)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their (K)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (L)delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (M)The blessing of him who was (N)about to perish came upon me,
and I caused (O)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (P)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and (Q)a turban.
15 I was (R)eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out (S)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (T)broke (U)the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (V)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (W)nest,
and I shall multiply my days as (X)the sand,
19 my (Y)roots spread out to (Z)the waters,
with the dew all night on my (AA)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my (AB)bow ever (AC)new in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word (AD)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they (AE)opened their mouths as for the (AF)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and (AG)the light of my (AH)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like (AI)a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
Footnotes
- Job 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
