29:1 Then Job continued ²  his speech:

29:2 “O that I could be ³  as ⁴  I was

in the months now gone, ⁵ 

in the days ⁶  when God watched ⁷  over me,

29:3 when ⁸  he caused ⁹  his lamp ¹⁰ 

to shine upon my head,

and by his light

I walked ¹¹  through darkness; ¹² 

29:4 just as I was in my most productive time, ¹³ 

when God’s intimate friendship ¹⁴  was experienced in my tent,

29:5 when the Almighty ¹⁵  was still with me

and my children were ¹⁶  around me;

29:6 when my steps ¹⁷  were bathed ¹⁸  with butter ¹⁹ 

and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil! ²⁰ 

29:7 When I went out to the city gate

and secured my seat in the public square, ²¹ 

29:8 the young men would see me and step aside, ²² 

and the old men would get up and remain standing;

29:9 the chief men refrained from talking

and covered their mouths with their hands;

29:10 the voices of the nobles fell silent, ²³ 

and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

29:11 “As soon as the ear heard these things, ²⁴  it blessed me, ²⁵ 

and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,

29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,

and the orphan who ²⁶  had no one to assist him;

29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, ²⁷ 

and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; ²⁸ 

29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, ²⁹ 

my just dealing ³⁰  was like a robe and a turban;

29:15 I was eyes for the blind

and feet for the lame;

29:16 I was a father ³¹  to the needy,

and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;

29:17 I broke the fangs ³²  of the wicked,

and made him drop ³³  his prey from his teeth.

29:18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, ³⁴ 

my days as numerous as the grains of sand. ³⁵ 

29:19 My roots reach the water,

and the dew lies on my branches all night long.

29:20 My glory ³⁶  will always be fresh ³⁷  in me,

and my bow ever new in my hand.’

29:21 “People ³⁸  listened to me and waited silently; ³⁹ 

they kept silent for my advice.

29:22 After I had spoken, they did not respond;

my words fell on them drop by drop. ⁴⁰ 

29:23 They waited for me as people wait ⁴¹  for the rain,

and they opened their mouths ⁴² 

as for ⁴³  the spring rains.

29:24 If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it; ⁴⁴ 

and they did not cause the light of my face to darken. ⁴⁵ 

29:25 I chose ⁴⁶  the way for them ⁴⁷ 

and sat as their chief; ⁴⁸ 

I lived like a king among his troops;

I was like one who comforts mourners. ⁴⁹