Job 29
The Message
When God Was Still by My Side
29 1-6 Job now resumed his response:
“Oh, how I long for the good old days,
when God took such very good care of me.
He always held a lamp before me
and I walked through the dark by its light.
Oh, how I miss those golden years
when God’s friendship graced my home,
When the Mighty One was still by my side
and my children were all around me,
When everything was going my way,
and nothing seemed too difficult.
7-20 “When I walked downtown
and sat with my friends in the public square,
Young and old greeted me with respect;
I was honored by everyone in town.
When I spoke, everyone listened;
they hung on my every word.
People who knew me spoke well of me;
my reputation went ahead of me.
I was known for helping people in trouble
and standing up for those who were down on their luck.
The dying blessed me,
and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.
All my dealings with people were good.
I was known for being fair to everyone I met.
I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame,
Father to the needy,
and champion of abused aliens.
I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck
and made them give back what they’d stolen.
I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed,
grateful for a long and full life,
A life deep-rooted and well-watered,
a life limber and dew-fresh,
My soul soaked through with glory
and my body robust until the day I die.’
21-25 “Men and women listened when I spoke,
hung expectantly on my every word.
After I spoke, they’d be quiet,
taking it all in.
They welcomed my counsel like spring rain,
drinking it all in.
When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;
their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!
I was their leader, establishing the mood
and setting the pace by which they lived.
Where I led, they followed.”
Job 29
Legacy Standard Bible
Job Continues His Discourse
29 And Job continued to lift up his [a](A)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (B)kept me,
3 When (C)His lamp shone over my head,
And (D)by His light I walked through darkness,
4 As I was in [b]the prime of my days,
When the (E)intimate counsel with God was over my tent,
5 When [c]the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me,
6 When my steps were bathed in (F)butter,
And the (G)rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 When I went out to (H)the gate of the city,
When I [d]took my seat in the square,
8 The young men saw me and hid,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The princes (I)stopped talking
And (J)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voice of the nobles was (K)hidden away,
And their (L)tongue clung to their palate.
11 For (M)the ear heard, and it called me blessed,
And the eye saw, and it gave witness of me,
12 Because I provided escape for (N)the afflicted who cried for help,
And the (O)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one (P)ready to perish came upon me,
And I made the (Q)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (R)clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was (S)eyes to the blind
And feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to (T)the needy,
And I searched out the case which I did not know.
17 I (U)broke the fangs of the unjust
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [e]said, ‘I will breathe my last [f]in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (V)root is spread out to the waters,
And (W)dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (X)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (Y)they listened and waited,
And kept silent for my counsel.
22 After my words they did not (Z)speak again,
And (AA)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouth as for the [g]late rain.
24 I laughed with them as they could not believe it,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (AB)chief,
And dwelt as their head among the troops,
As one who (AC)comforted the mourners.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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