Job - Chapter 29 | New International Version

  • 1. Job continued his discourse:
  • 2. How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
  • 3. when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
  • 4. Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,
  • 5. when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
  • 6. when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
  • 7. When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
  • 8. the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
  • 9. the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
  • 10. the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
  • 11. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
  • 12. because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
  • 13. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.
  • 14. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
  • 15. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
  • 16. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
  • 17. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
  • 18. I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
  • 19. My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
  • 20. My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.'
  • 21. Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
  • 22. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
  • 23. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
  • 24. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
  • 25. I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.
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