Job 29:7-25
Expanded Bible
7 I would go to the city gate
and sit in the public square [C indicating Job was a city leader/elder].
8 When the young men saw me, they would ·step aside [or hide],
and the old men would stand up in respect.
9 The ·leading men [princes] ·stopped speaking [L grew silent]
and covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the ·important men [nobles] ·were quiet [grew silent],
as if their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 ·Anyone [L Any ear] who heard me ·spoke well of [L blessed] me,
and ·those who [L the eye that] saw me ·praised [L bore testimony to] me,
12 because I ·saved [rescued] the poor who ·called out [L cried for help]
and the orphan who had no one to help.
13 The ·dying [L perishing] person blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart ·sing [L shout for joy].
14 I ·put on right living as if it were clothing [L clothed myself with righteousness and it clothed me];
I wore ·fairness [justice] like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame.
16 I was like a father to needy people,
and I ·took the side of [examined the cause of] ·strangers who were in trouble [L strangers; those I did not know].
17 I broke the ·fangs [or jaw] of evil people
and snatched the ·captives [L prey; C the wicked are predators] from their teeth.
18 “I thought, ‘I will ·live for as many days as there are grains of [L multiply my days like] sand,
and I will die in my ·own house [L nest].
19 My roots ·will reach down [opened] to the water.
The dew ·will lie [lodged] on the branches all night.
20 ·New honors will come to me continually [My honor/or liver/heart was new],
and ·I will always have great strength [L my bow was renewed within my hand].’
21 “People listened to me carefully
and waited ·quietly [silently] for my advice.
22 After I finished speaking, they spoke no more.
My words ·fell [L dripped] very gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as they would for rain
and ·drank in my words like [L opened their mouth for] spring rain.
24 I smiled at them when they ·doubted [L had no confidence],
and ·my approval was important to them [L they did not frown at the light of my countenance].
25 I chose the way for them and ·was their leader [L sat as their chief].
I lived like a king among his army,
like a person who comforts ·sad [mourning] people.
Job 29:7-25
Amplified Bible
7
“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,
8
The young men saw me and hid themselves,
The aged arose and stood [respectfully];
9
The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;
10
The voices of the nobles were hushed,
And their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11
“For when an ear heard [my name mentioned], it called me happy and fortunate;
And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly],
12
Because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.
13
“The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
14
“I put on [a]righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban!
15
“I was eyes to the blind
And I was feet to the lame.
16
“I was a father to the needy;
I investigated the case I did not know [and assured justice].
17
“And I smashed the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
18
“Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19
‘My root is spread out and open to the waters,
And the dew lies all night upon my branch.
20
‘My glory and honor are fresh in me [being constantly renewed],
And my bow gains [ever] new strength in my hand.’
21
“They listened to me and waited
And kept silent for my counsel.
22
“After I spoke, they did not speak again,
And my speech dropped upon them [like a refreshing shower].
23
“They waited for me [and for my words] as for the rain,
And they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
24
“I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not diminish the light of my face.
25
“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,
As one who comforts mourners.
Footnotes
- Job 29:14 Blameless and upright as Job had been—and God had so pronounced him—his misunderstood afflictions had caused him to get dangerously off-center. Instead of keeping his mind focused on God and justifying Him, he is giving his whole thought to justifying himself. Instead of humility there is self-righteousness. In this chapter he uses pronouns referring to himself fifty times. But when he was able to see himself as God saw him, he loathed himself and repented “in dust and ashes” (42:6).
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
