Job 29

1 Job 29:1 And Job again took up his discourse and said,

2 Job 29:2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;

3 Job 29:3 When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;

4 Job 29:4 As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;

5 Job 29:5 When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me;

6 Job 29:6 When my steps were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

7 Job 29:7 “When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the square,

8 Job 29:8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.

9 Job 29:9 “The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;

10 Job 29:10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to their palate.

11 Job 29:11 “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,

12 Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper.

13 Job 29:13 “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

14 Job 29:14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15 Job 29:15 “I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame.

16 Job 29:16 “I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

17 Job 29:17 “I broke the jaws of the wicked And snatched the prey from his teeth.

18 Job 29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

19 Job 29:19 ‘My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch.

20 Job 29:20 ‘My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 Job 29:21 “To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel.

22 Job 29:22 “After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them.

23 Job 29:23 “They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.

24 Job 29:24 “I smiled on them when they did not believe, And the light of my face they did not cast down.

25 Job 29:25 “I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.