Job 29-31
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 And Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (B)watched over me;
3 When (C)His lamp shone over my head,
And (D)by His light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in [a]the prime of my days,
When the [b](E)friendship of 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 themselves,
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 [e](K)hushed,
And their (L)tongue stuck to their palate.
11 “For when (M)the ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
12 Because I delivered (N)the poor 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)put on 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 investigated the case which I did not know.
17 “I (U)broke the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 “Then I [f]thought, ‘I shall die [g]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 spring rain.
24 “I smiled on them when they did not believe,
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 a king among the troops,
As one who (AC)comforted the mourners.
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those younger than I (AD)mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 “From want and famine they are gaunt
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck [h]mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 “They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they dwell in dreadful [i]valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
7 “Among the bushes they [j]cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
8 “[k]Fools, even [l]those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [m](AE)taunt,
I have even become a (AF)byword to them.
10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [n]refrain from (AG)spitting at my face.
11 “Because [o]He has loosed [p]His [q]bowstring and (AH)afflicted me,
They have cast off (AI)the bridle before me.
12 “On the right hand their [r]brood arises;
They (AJ)thrust aside my feet (AK)and build up against me their ways of destruction.
13 “They (AL)break up my path,
They profit [s]from my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 “As through a wide breach they come,
[t]Amid the tempest they roll on.
15 “(AM)Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my [u]honor as the wind,
And my [v]prosperity has passed away (AN)like a cloud.
16 “And now (AO)my soul is poured out [w]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 “At night it pierces (AP)my bones [x]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 “By a great force my garment is (AQ)distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 “He has cast me into the (AR)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I (AS)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 “You have [y]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (AT)persecute me.
22 “You (AU)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 “For I know that You (AV)will bring me to death
And to the (AW)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore (AX)cry out for help?
25 “Have I not (AY)wept for the [z]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (AZ)the needy?
26 “When I (BA)expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (BB)then darkness came.
27 “[aa]I am seething (BC)within and cannot relax;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 “I go about [ab](BD)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (BE)cry out for help.
29 “I have become a brother to (BF)jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
30 “My (BG)skin turns black [ac]on me,
And my (BH)bones burn with [ad]fever.
31 “Therefore my (BI)harp [ae]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
Job Asserts His Integrity
31 “I have made a covenant with my (BJ)eyes;
How then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 “And what is (BK)the portion of God from above
Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
3 “Is it not (BL)calamity to the unjust
And disaster to (BM)those who work iniquity?
4 “Does He not (BN)see my ways
And (BO)number all my steps?
5 “If I have (BP)walked with falsehood,
And my foot has hastened after deceit,
6 Let Him (BQ)weigh me with [af]accurate scales,
And let God know (BR)my integrity.
7 “If my step has (BS)turned from the way,
Or my heart [ag]followed my eyes,
Or if any (BT)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me (BU)sow and another eat,
And let my [ah](BV)crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been (BW)enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife (BX)grind for another,
And let (BY)others [ai]kneel down over her.
11 “For that would be a (BZ)lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be (CA)an iniquity punishable by judges.
12 “For it would be (CB)fire that consumes to [aj](CC)Abaddon,
And would (CD)uproot all my [ak]increase.
13 “If I have (CE)despised the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
15 “Did not (CF)He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept (CG)the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of (CH)the widow to fail,
17 Or have (CI)eaten my morsel alone,
And (CJ)the orphan has not [al]shared it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from [am]infancy I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish (CK)for lack of clothing,
Or that (CL)the needy had no covering,
20 If his loins have not [an]thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my hand against (CM)the orphan,
Because I saw [ao]I had support (CN)in the gate,
22 Let my shoulder fall from the [ap]socket,
And my (CO)arm be broken off [aq]at the elbow.
23 “For (CP)calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of (CQ)His [ar]majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in (CR)gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have (CS)gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had secured so much;
26 If I have (CT)looked at the [as]sun when it shone
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart became secretly enticed,
And my hand [at]threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been (CU)an iniquity calling for [au]judgment,
For I would have (CV)denied God above.
29 “Have I (CW)rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
Or [av]exulted when evil befell him?
30 “[aw]No, (CX)I have not [ax]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in (CY)a curse.
31 “Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can [ay]find one who has not been (CZ)satisfied with his meat’?
32 “The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [az]traveler.
33 “Have I (DA)covered my transgressions like [ba]Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34 Because I (DB)feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 “Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my [bb]signature;
(DC)Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my (DD)adversary has written,
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
I would bind it to myself like a crown.
37 “I would declare to Him (DE)the number of my steps;
Like (DF)a prince I would approach Him.
38 “If my (DG)land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have (DH)eaten its [bc]fruit without money,
Or have (DI)caused [bd]its owners to lose their lives,
40 Let (DJ)briars [be]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 29:4 Lit the days of my autumn
- Job 29:4 Lit counsel
- Job 29:5 Heb Shaddai
- Job 29:7 Lit set up
- Job 29:10 Lit hidden
- Job 29:18 Lit said
- Job 29:18 Lit with
- Job 30:4 I.e. plant of the salt marshes
- Job 30:6 Or wadis
- Job 30:7 Or bray
- Job 30:8 Lit Sons of fools
- Job 30:8 Lit sons
- Job 30:9 Lit song
- Job 30:10 Lit withhold spit from my face
- Job 30:11 Or they
- Job 30:11 Some mss read my
- Job 30:11 Or cord
- Job 30:12 Possibly sprout or offspring
- Job 30:13 Lit for
- Job 30:14 Lit Under
- Job 30:15 Or nobility
- Job 30:15 Or welfare
- Job 30:16 Lit upon
- Job 30:17 Lit from upon
- Job 30:21 Lit turned to be
- Job 30:25 Lit hard of day
- Job 30:27 Lit My inward parts are boiling
- Job 30:28 Or blackened, but not by the heat of the sun
- Job 30:30 Lit from upon
- Job 30:30 Lit heat
- Job 30:31 Lit becomes
- Job 31:6 Lit just
- Job 31:7 Lit walked after
- Job 31:8 Or offspring
- Job 31:10 I.e. sexual relations
- Job 31:12 I.e. place of destruction
- Job 31:12 Or yield
- Job 31:17 Lit eaten from it
- Job 31:18 Lit my mother’s womb
- Job 31:20 Lit blessed
- Job 31:21 Lit my help
- Job 31:22 Lit shoulder; or back
- Job 31:22 Lit from the bone of the upper arm
- Job 31:23 Lit exaltation
- Job 31:26 Lit light
- Job 31:27 Lit kissed my mouth
- Job 31:28 Lit judges
- Job 31:29 Lit lifted myself up
- Job 31:30 Lit And
- Job 31:30 Lit given my palate
- Job 31:31 Lit give
- Job 31:32 M.T. way
- Job 31:33 Or mankind
- Job 31:35 Lit mark
- Job 31:39 Lit strength
- Job 31:39 Lit the soul of its owners to expire
- Job 31:40 Lit come forth
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
