NET Bible

Job Recalls His Former Condition1

^29:1 Then Job continued his speech:

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

Job’s Benevolence

^29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me; ^29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him; ^29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ^29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me; my just dealing was like a robe and a turban; ^29:15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame; ^29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know; ^29:17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop his prey from his teeth.

Job’s Confidence

^29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, my days as numerous as the grains of sand. ^29:19 My roots reach the water, and the dew lies on my branches all night long. ^29:20 My glory will always be fresh in me, and my bow ever new in my hand.’

Job’s Reputation

^29:21 “People listened to me and waited silently; they kept silent for my advice. ^29:22 After I had spoken, they did not respond; my words fell on them drop by drop. ^29:23 They waited for me as people wait for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rains. ^29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it; and they did not cause the light of my face to darken. ^29:25 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.