Job 29
Job longs to return to the days when God watched over him, when he was prosperous and respected by all. He recalls his former life, when he was surrounded by his children, and his presence commanded respect from the young and the old. Job notes that he used his position to help the poor and the orphan, and that he was a source of comfort and guidance to those in need. He expresses his desire to return to that state, where he was a source of hope and strength to others.
1Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said2Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me3At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness4I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle5At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me6Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me7When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me8The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing9The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth10The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat11The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me12This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper13The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow14I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem15I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame16I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently17I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth18And I said, "I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days19My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest20My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.21Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel22To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them23They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains24If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground25If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to those who mourned
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