“When I went out to the gate by the city,
When I took my seat in the open square,
The young men saw me and hid,
And the aged arose and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,
And (A)put their hand on their mouth;
10 The voice of nobles was hushed,
And their (B)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 (C)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 (D)I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
15 I was (E)eyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the poor,
And (F)I searched out the case that I did not know.
17 I broke (G)the fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.

18 “Then I said, (H)‘I shall die in my nest,
And multiply my days as the sand.
19 (I)My root is spread out (J)to the waters,
And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20 My glory is fresh within me,
And my (K)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 (L)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.

Read full chapter

“At my going out the gate to the city,
I secured my seat in the square.
Young men saw me and stepped aside,
and the aged rose up and stood.
Officials refrained from talking,
and they laid their hand on their mouth.
10 The voices[a] 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[b] 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[c] 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.’[d]
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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 29:10 Hebrew “voice”; collective singular by context, governing a plural verb
  2. Job 29:12 Supplying the elided verb from the preceding parallel line
  3. Job 29:16 Literally “the one I knew not”
  4. Job 29:20 See NJPS; literally “my bow in my hand was new”