Job 29 — The Holy Bible

The Glories of the Past

Job 29, verse 1. Job continued further and said in his speech:

“Who may put me in months past,

As in the days when God protected me—

As when His lamp shone upon my head,

And by His light I walked in the darkness;

As when I steadfastly pursued my ways,

When God's visitation was over my house;

As when I lived in abundance,

And my children were around me;

As when my roads spread out with butter,

And the mountains flowed with milk for me;

“As when I went early in the city,

And took my seat in the open square;

The young men saw me and hid,

And all the old men stood up.

The great men refrained from talking

And put their finger to their mouth.

Those who heard me blessed me,

And their tongue stuck to their throat.

The ear heard and blessed me,

And the eye saw me and turned aside.

For I saved the poor from the hand of the oppressor

And helped the orphan who had no helper.

The blessing of the perishing man came upon me,

And the widow's mouth blessed me.

I put on righteousness

And clothed myself with judgment like a robe.

I was the eye of the blind and the foot of the lame.

I was the father of the weak,

And I searched out the cause I did not know.

I broke the molars of the wrongdoers

And plucked the spoil from the midst of their teeth.

“Then I said, ‘My age shall continue as the stem of a palm tree,

And I shall live a long while.’

My root was spread out to the waters,

And the dew would settle on my harvest.

My glory was fresh within me,

And my bow prospered in its hand.

“Men heard and listened to me

And kept silence for my counsel.

At my word they did not speak again,

And they were very glad when I spoke to them.

They waited for my speech

As the thirsty earth for the rain.

If I laughed at them, they did not believe it,

And the light of my countenance did not fail.

I chose the way for them and sat as a ruler;

And I dwelt as a king in the army,

As one who comforts mourners.