Job 29
1 Job continued his discourse:Job 13:1227:1 1 Job 13:12
2 "How I long for the months gone by,S Ge 31:30 2 for the days when God watched over me,Jer 1:1231:2844:27 2 Jer 31:28
3 when his lamp shone upon my head 3 and by his light I walked through darkness!S Job 11:17S 12:25 3 Job 11:17
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, 4 when God's intimate friendshipS Job 15:8 blessed my house,Ps 25:14Pr 3:32 4 Ps 25:14
5 when the Almighty was still with me 5 and my childrenPs 127:3-5; 128:3 were around me,Ru 4:1
6 when my path was drenched with creamS Job 20:17 6 Job 20:17 6 and the rockPs 81:16 poured out for me streams of olive oil.Ge 49:20; S Dt 32:13 6 Dt 32:13; Ps 81:16
7 "When I went to the gatever 21Job 5:431:21Jer 20:2; 38:7 of the city 7 Job 31:21 7 and took my seat in the public square,
8 the young men saw me and stepped aside1Ti 5:1 8 and the old men rose to their feet;S Lev 19:32
9 the chief men refrained from speakingver 21; Job 31:21 9 and covered their mouths with their hands;S Jdg 18:19; Job 40:4; Pr 30:32Job 21:5 9 Job 21:5
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,ver 22 10 and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.Ps 137:6 10 Ps 137:6
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, 11 and those who saw me commended me,S Job 4:4; Heb 11:4
12 because I rescued the poorS Job 24:4 who cried for help, 12 Job 24:4 12 and the fatherlessS Dt 24:17Job 31:17,21 who had none to assist him.Ps 72:12; Pr 21:13 12 Job 31:17,21; Ps 72:12; Pr 21:13
13 The man who was dying blessed me;Job 31:20 13 I made the widow'sS Dt 10:18; S Job 22:9 heart sing. 13 Job 22:9
14 I put on righteousnessS 2Sa 8:15; S Job 27:6Ps 132:9Isa 59:17; 61:10Eph 4:246:14 as my clothing; 14 Isa 59:17; 61:10; Eph 6:14 14 justice was my robe and my turban.S Job 19:9
15 I was eyesNu 10:31 to the blind 15 Nu 10:31 15 and feet to the lame.S Job 4:4
16 I was a father to the needy;S Job 24:4Pr 29:7 16 Pr 29:7 16 I took up the caseEx 18:26 of the stranger.S Job 4:4; Pr 22:22-23
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked 17 and snatched the victimsJob 24:9 from their teeth.S Job 4:10,11; S Ps 3:7 17 Ps 3:7
18 "I thought, 'I will die in my own house, 18 my days as numerous as the grains of sand.Ps 1:1-3; 15:5; 16:830:662:2; 139:18; Pr 3:1-2 18 Ps 30:6
19 My roots will reach to the water,S Nu 24:6; S Job 14:9Job 18:16Jer 17:8 19 Jer 17:8 19 and the dew will lie all night on my branches.S Ge 27:8; S Job 15:30; S Ps 133:3
20 My glory will remain freshPs 92:14 in me, 20 the bowJob 30:11Ps 18:34Isa 38:12 ever new in my hand.'Ge 49:24 20 Ge 49:24; Ps 18:34
21 "Men listened to me expectantly, 21 waiting in silence for my counsel.S ver 7,S 9
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;ver 10 22 my words fell gently on their ears.Dt 32:2 22 Dt 32:2
23 They waited for me as for showers 23 and drank in my words as the spring rain.S Job 4:3
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; 24 the light of my faceS Nu 6:25 was precious to them.[a] The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.Pr 16:14,15
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;S Job 21:28 25 I dwelt as a kingS Job 1:331:37 among his troops; 25 Job 1:3 25 I was like one who comforts mourners.S Job 4:4 25 Job 4:4 Job 30
1 "But now they mock me,S Job 6:14; S 11:3; S Ps 119:21Job 12:4 1 Job 12:4 1 men younger than I, 1 whose fathers I would have disdained 1 to put with my sheep dogs.Isa 56:10
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me, 2 since their vigor had gone from them?
3 Haggard from want and hunger, 3 they roamed[b] Or gnawed the parched landIsa 8:21 3 Isa 8:21 3 in desolate wastelandsJob 24:5 at night.Jer 17:6 3 Job 24:5
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,Job 39:6 4 Job 39:6 4 and their food[c] Or fuel was the root of the broom tree.S 1Ki 19:4 4 1Ki 19:4
5 They were banished from their fellow men, 5 shouted at as if they were thieves.
6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds, 6 among the rocks and in holes in the ground.Isa 2:19; Hos 10:8
7 They brayedJob 6:5 among the bushesJob 39:5-6 7 Job 39:5-6 7 and huddled in the undergrowth.
8 A base and nameless brood,S Jdg 9:4 8 they were driven out of the land.S Job 18:18 8 Job 18:18
9 "And now their sons mock meS Job 16:10Ps 69:11 in song;Job 12:4; La 3:14,63 9 Job 12:4; Ps 69:11; La 3:14,63 9 I have become a bywordS Job 17:6 among them. 9 Job 17:6
10 They detest meJob 19:19 and keep their distance; 10 they do not hesitate to spit in my face.Nu 12:14S Dt 25:9Isa 50:6Mt 26:67 10 Nu 12:14; Dt 25:9; Isa 50:6
11 Now that God has unstrung my bowS Job 29:20 and afflicted me,S Ge 12:17; S Ru 1:21 11 Ru 1:21 11 they throw off restraintJob 41:13Ps 32:9 in my presence. 11 Ps 32:9
12 On my rightPs 109:6; Zec 3:1 the tribe[d] The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. attacks; 12 they lay snaresS Job 18:9 for my feet,Ps 140:4-5 12 Ps 140:4-5 12 they build their siege ramps against me.S Job 16:10Job 19:12 12 Job 19:12
13 They break up my road;Isa 3:12 13 Isa 3:12 13 they succeed in destroying meS Job 10:3— 13 without anyone's helping them.[e] Or me. / 'No one can help him,' they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;S 2Ki 25:4 14 amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 TerrorsS Job 6:4 overwhelm me;S Ex 3:6; Job 10:8; 31:2-3,23Job 31:23Ps 55:4-5 15 Ps 55:4-5 15 my dignity is driven away as by the wind, 15 my safety vanishes like a cloud.S Job 3:25Hos 13:3 15 Job 3:25; Hos 13:3
16 "And now my life ebbs away;S Job 3:24Ps 22:1442:4 16 Ps 42:4 16 days of suffering grip me.ver 27; S Job 9:17
17 Night pierces my bones; 17 my gnawing pains never rest.S Dt 28:35; S Job 16:16
18 In his great powerS Job 9:4 God becomes like clothing to me[f] Hebrew; Septuagint God grasps my clothing; 18 he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,Ps 40:269:2,14130:1; Jer 38:6,22 19 Ps 69:2,14 19 and I am reduced to dust and ashes.S Ge 3:19; S Job 2:8
20 "I cry out to you,S 1Ki 8:52; Ps 34:17; Pr 2:3; Mic 4:9 O God, but you do not answer;S Job 19:7La 3:8 20 Job 19:7 20 I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;Job 19:6,22Jer 6:23; 30:14; 50:42 21 Job 19:6,22 21 with the might of your handJob 16:9,14Isa 9:12; 14:26; 31:3; Eze 6:14 you attack me.S Job 4:5; S 6:4; S 10:3
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;Job 27:21Jude 1:12 22 Job 27:21 22 you toss me about in the storm.S Job 9:17 22 Job 9:17
23 I know you will bring me down to death,S 2Sa 14:14; S Job 3:13; S 10:3Job 9:22; 10:8 23 Job 9:22; 10:8 23 to the place appointed for all the living.S Job 3:19
24 "Surely no one lays a hand on a broken manPs 145:14; Isa 42:3; 57:15 24 when he cries for help in his distress.S Job 19:7 24 Job 19:7
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?Lk 19:41; Php 3:18 25 Has not my soul grieved for the poor?S Job 24:4Ps 35:13-14; Ro 12:15 25 Job 24:4; Ps 35:13-14; Ro 12:15
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; 26 when I looked for light, then came darkness.S Job 3:6,173:25-26S 19:8S Ps 82:5; S Jer 4:23Jer 8:15 26 Jer 8:15
27 The churning inside me never stops;Ps 38:8La 2:11 27 La 2:11 27 days of suffering confront me.S ver 16
28 I go about blackened,S Job 17:14; La 4:8Ps 38:642:943:2 but not by the sun; 28 Ps 42:9 28 I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.S Job 19:7S 24:12 28 Job 19:7
29 I have become a brother of jackals,Ps 44:19Isa 34:13; Jer 9:11 29 Ps 44:19 29 a companion of owls.Ps 102:6Mic 1:8 29 Mic 1:8
30 My skin grows blackS Job 17:14 and peels;La 3:44:8 30 La 4:8 30 my body burns with fever.S Dt 28:35; S Job 16:16Ps 102:3La 1:13; 5:10 30 Ps 102:3
31 My harp is tuned to mourning,S Ge 8:8; Ps 137:2Isa 16:1124:8Eze 26:13 31 Isa 24:8 31 and my fluteS Ge 4:21 to the sound of wailing.
