Capítulo 29

1 - Job continued his discourse:

2 - "How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

3 - when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!

4 - Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,

5 - when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,

6 - when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

7 - "When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,

8 - the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;

9 - the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;

10 - the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11 - Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,

12 - because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.

13 - The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.

14 - I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

15 - I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.

16 - I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.

17 - I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.

18 - "I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

19 - My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

20 - My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.'

21 - "People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.

22 - After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.

23 - They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.

24 - When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them. The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

25 - I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.