Shared Word Translation
Job 29
If Only I Were as in Former Months
Job again took up his discourse and said:
“If only I were as in former months,
as in the days when God watched over me,
when his lamp shone upon my head
and by his light I walked through darkness,
as I was in the days of my prime,
when the counsel of God was over my tent,
when the Almighty was still with me,
when my children were around me,
when my steps were washed with curds
and the rock poured out streams of oil for me.
When I Went Out to the Gate
When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood.
Princes restrained their words
and placed a hand over their mouth.
The voice of nobles was hushed,
and their tongue clung to the roof of their mouth.
For the ear that heard blessed me,
and the eye that saw testified for me,
because I delivered the poor who cried out,
and the fatherless who had no helper.
The blessing of the one about to perish came upon me,
and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
I Put on Righteousness
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the poor,
and I investigated the case of one I did not know.
I broke the jaws of the unjust
and plucked the prey from his teeth.
I Thought I Would Die in My Nest
Then I said, ‘I will die in my nest,
and multiply my days like the sand.
My root is open to the waters,
and dew spends the night upon my branch.
My glory is fresh with me,
and my bow is renewed in my hand.’
People Waited for My Counsel
People listened to me and waited;
they were silent for my counsel.
After my word they did not speak again,
and my speech dropped upon them.
They waited for me as for rain
and opened their mouth for the spring rain.
I smiled upon them when they did not believe it,
and they did not cast down the light of my face.
I chose their way and sat as chief;
I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.”