Job 29 — NETB

29Verse 1Then Job continued his speech:^{Verse 2}“O that I could be as I was
in the months now gone,
in the days when God watched over me,
^{Verse 3}when he caused his lamp
to shine upon my head,
and by his light
I walked through darkness;
^{Verse 4}just as I was in my most productive time,
when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,
^{Verse 5}when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me;
^{Verse 6}when my steps were bathed with butter
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!
^{Verse 7}When I went out to the city gate
and secured my seat in the public square,
^{Verse 8}the young men would see me and step aside,
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
^{Verse 9}the chief men refrained from talking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
^{Verse 10}the voices of the nobles fell silent,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

Job’s Benevolence

^{Verse 11}“As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me,
and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
^{Verse 12}for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who had no one to assist him;
^{Verse 13}the blessing of the dying man descended on me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;
^{Verse 14}I put on righteousness and it clothed me,
my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;
^{Verse 15}I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame;
^{Verse 16}I was a father to the needy,
and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
^{Verse 17}I broke the fangs of the wicked,
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.

Job’s Confidence

^{Verse 18}“Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home,
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
^{Verse 19}My roots reach the water,
and the dew lies on my branches all night long.
^{Verse 20}My glory will always be fresh in me,
and my bow ever new in my hand.’

Job’s Reputation

^{Verse 21}“People listened to me and waited silently;
they kept silent for my advice.
^{Verse 22}After I had spoken, they did not respond;
my words fell on them drop by drop.
^{Verse 23}They waited for me as people wait for the rain,
and they opened their mouths
as for the spring rains.
^{Verse 24}If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it;
and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.
^{Verse 25}I chose the way for them
and sat as their chief;
I lived like a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.