Job - Chapter 29

¹ And Job continued his solemn discourse. He said:

² Will no one bring back to me the months that have gone, and the days when God was my guardian,

³ when his lamp shone over my head, and his light was my guide in the darkness?

⁴ Shall I ever see my days of harvest again when God protected my tent;

⁵ when Shaddai still dwelt with me, and my children were around me;

⁶ when my feet were bathed in milk, and streams of oil poured from the rocks?

⁷ When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square,

⁸ as soon as I appeared, the young men stepped aside, and the old men rose to their feet.

⁹ Men of note broke off their speeches, and put their hands over their mouths;

¹⁰ the voices of rulers were silenced, and their tongues stayed still in their mouths.

¹¹ On hearing me, people congratulated me, on seeing me, people deferred to me,

¹² because I freed the poor in distress and the orphan who had no helper.

¹³ The dying man's blessing rested on me and I gave the widow's heart cause to rejoice.

¹⁴ Uprightness I wore as a garment, fair judgement was my cloak and my turban.

¹⁵ I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.

¹⁶ Who but me was father of the poor? The stranger's case had a hearing from me.

¹⁷ I used to break the fangs of the wicked, and snatch their prey from their jaws.

¹⁸ And I used to say, 'I shall die in honour, after days as numerous as the sand.

¹⁹ My roots can reach the water, the dews of night settle on my leaves.

²⁰ My glory will be for ever new and the bow in my hand for ever strong.'

²¹ They waited anxiously to hear me, and listened in silence to what I had to say.

²² When I had finished, no one contradicted, my words dropping on them, one by one.

²³ They waited for me as though for rain, open-mouthed as though for a late shower.

²⁴ If I smiled at them, it was too good to be true, they watched my face for the least sign of favour.

²⁵ As their chief, I told them which course to take, like a king living among his troops, and I led them wherever I chose.

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