52 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 29
|
||
1 Job continued his discourse, saying:
|
||
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!
|
||
4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth
|
||
when God’s friendship 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 curds
|
||
and the rock 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.
|
||
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.
|
||
12 For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
|
||
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.
|
||
13 The dying blessed me,
|
||
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
|
||
14 I clothed myself in righteousness,
|
||
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.
|
||
16 I was a father to the needy,
|
||
and I examined the case of the stranger.
|
||
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust
|
||
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.
|
||
19 My roots will have access to water,
|
||
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
|
||
20 My whole being will be refreshed within me,
|
||
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”
|
||
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 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. |