VerseAI

NIV

Job 29

  1. 1<pb/>Job continued his discourse:
  2. 2<pb/><t>“How I long for the months gone by,</t> <t>for the days when God watched over me,</t>
  3. 3<t>when his lamp shone on my head</t> <t>and by his light I walked through darkness!</t>
  4. 4<t>Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,</t> <t>when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,</t>
  5. 5<t>when the Almighty was still with me</t> <t>and my children were around me,</t>
  6. 6<t>when my path was drenched with cream</t> <t>and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil. <pb/></t>
  7. 7<t>“When I went to the gate of the city</t> <t>and took my seat in the public square,</t>
  8. 8<t>the young men saw me and stepped aside</t> <t>and the old men rose to their feet;</t>
  9. 9<t>the chief men refrained from speaking</t> <t>and covered their mouths with their hands;</t>
  10. 10<t>the voices of the nobles were hushed,</t> <t>and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.</t>
  11. 11<t>Whoever heard me spoke well of me,</t> <t>and those who saw me commended me,</t>
  12. 12<t>because I rescued the poor who cried for help,</t> <t>and the fatherless who had none to assist them.</t>
  13. 13<t>The one who was dying blessed me;</t> <t>I made the widow’s heart sing.</t>
  14. 14<t>I put on righteousness as my clothing;</t> <t>justice was my robe and my turban.</t>
  15. 15<t>I was eyes to the blind</t> <t>and feet to the lame.</t>
  16. 16<t>I was a father to the needy;</t> <t>I took up the case of the stranger.</t>
  17. 17<t>I broke the fangs of the wicked</t> <t>and snatched the victims from their teeth. <pb/></t>
  18. 18<t>“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,</t> <t>my days as numerous as the grains of sand.</t>
  19. 19<t>My roots will reach to the water,</t> <t>and the dew will lie all night on my branches.</t>
  20. 20<t>My glory will not fade;</t> <t>the bow will be ever new in my hand.’ <pb/></t>
  21. 21<t>“People listened to me expectantly,</t> <t>waiting in silence for my counsel.</t>
  22. 22<t>After I had spoken, they spoke no more;</t> <t>my words fell gently on their ears.</t>
  23. 23<t>They waited for me as for showers</t> <t>and drank in my words as the spring rain.</t>
  24. 24<t>When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;</t> <t>the light of my face was precious to them.<f>[44]</f></t>
  25. 25<t>I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;</t> <t>I dwelt as a king among his troops;</t> <t>I was like one who comforts mourners.</t>