Job 29  Holman Christian Standard Bible

² If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,
³ when His lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by His light!^(A)
4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship^(B) rested on my tent,
⁵ when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
⁶ when my feet were bathed in cream
and the rock^(C) poured out streams of oil for me!

⁷ When I went out to the city gate
and took my seat in the town square,
⁸ the young men saw me and withdrew,
while older men stood to their feet.
⁹ City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.^(D)
10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
¹¹ When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.^[a]
12 For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.^(E)
13 The dying man blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
¹⁴ I clothed myself in righteousness,^(F)
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.^(G)
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I examined the case of the stranger.
¹⁷ I shattered the fangs of the unjust^(H)
and snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹⁸ So I thought: I will die in my own nest
and multiply my days as the sand.^[b]
19 My roots will have access to water,^(I)
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
²⁰ My strength will be refreshed within me,
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.^(J)

²¹ Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my advice.
²² After a word from me they did not speak again;
my speech settled on them like dew.
²³ They waited for me as for the rain
and opened their mouths as for spring showers.
²⁴ If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;
they were thrilled at^[c] the light of my countenance.
²⁵ I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.