Job 29
29
Job’s Final Claim of Innocence
1Job continued his discourse, saying:
2If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,
3when his lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by his light!#Jb 11:17; Ps 18:28; 119:105
4I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship#Ps 25:14; 55:14; Pr 3:32 rested on my tent,
5when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
6when my feet were bathed in curds
and the rock#Dt 32:13; Jb 20:17; Ps 81:16 poured out streams of oil for me!
7When I went out to the city gate#Dt 25:7; 2Sm 15:2; 2Ch 32:6; Ps 69:12; Am 5:10
and took my seat in the town square,
8the young men saw me and withdrew,
while older men stood to their feet.
9City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.#Jdg 18:19; Jb 21:5; 40:4
10The noblemen’s voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.#Ps 22:15; Ezk 3:26
11When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.#29:11 Lit When an ear heard, it called me blessed, and when an eye saw, it testified for me
12For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.#Ex 22:22; Dt 24:17; 27:19; Jb 6:27; 31:21; Ps 10:14; 72:12; Pr 21:13
13The dying blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
14I clothed myself in righteousness,#Ps 132:9; Is 59:17; Eph 6:14
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.#Is 35:6; 42:7,16; Mt 11:5
16I was a father to the needy,
and I examined the case of the stranger.
17I shattered the fangs of the unjust#Jb 4:10; Ps 3:7; 58:6
and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18So I thought, “I will die in my own nest
and multiply my days as the sand.#29:18 Or as the phoenix
19My roots will have access to water,#Jb 14:9; Ps 1:3; Ezk 31:7
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
20My whole being will be refreshed within me,
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”#Gn 49:24; Is 40:31; 41:1
21Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my advice.
22After a word from me they did not speak again;
my speech settled on them like dew.#Dt 32:2
23They waited for me as for the rain
and opened their mouths as for spring showers.
24If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;
they were thrilled at#29:24 Lit they did not cast down the light of my countenance.
25I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Job 29
29
When God Was Still by My Side
1-6Job now resumed his response:
“Oh, how I long for the good old days,
when God took such very good care of me.
He always held a lamp before me
and I walked through the dark by its light.
Oh, how I miss those golden years
when God’s friendship graced my home,
When the Mighty One was still by my side
and my children were all around me,
When everything was going my way,
and nothing seemed too difficult.
7-20“When I walked downtown
and sat with my friends in the public square,
Young and old greeted me with respect;
I was honored by everyone in town.
When I spoke, everyone listened;
they hung on my every word.
People who knew me spoke well of me;
my reputation went ahead of me.
I was known for helping people in trouble
and standing up for those who were down on their luck.
The dying blessed me,
and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.
All my dealings with people were good.
I was known for being fair to everyone I met.
I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame,
Father to the needy,
and champion of abused aliens.
I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck
and made them give back what they’d stolen.
I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed,
grateful for a long and full life,
A life deep-rooted and well-watered,
a life limber and dew-fresh,
My soul soaked through with glory
and my body robust until the day I die.’
21-25“Men and women listened when I spoke,
hung expectantly on my every word.
After I spoke, they’d be quiet,
taking it all in.
They welcomed my counsel like spring rain,
drinking it all in.
When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it;
their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!
I was their leader, establishing the mood
and setting the pace by which they lived.
Where I led, they followed.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.