Job 29:2
New International Version
“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

New Living Translation
“I long for the years gone by when God took care of me,

English Standard Version
“Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,

Berean Standard Bible
“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

King James Bible
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

New King James Version
“Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me;

New American Standard Bible
“Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;

NASB 1995
“Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;

NASB 1977
“Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;

Legacy Standard Bible
“Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God kept me,

Amplified Bible
“Oh, that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me,

Christian Standard Bible
If only I could be as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If only I could be as in months gone by, in the days when God watched over me,

American Standard Version
Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me;

Contemporary English Version
I long for the past, when God took care of me,

English Revised Version
Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"If only my life could be like it used to be, in the days when God watched over me,

Good News Translation
If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.

International Standard Version
"I wish I could go back to how things were a few months ago; when God used to watch over me,

Majority Standard Bible
?How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

NET Bible
"O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,

New Heart English Bible
"Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;

Webster's Bible Translation
Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

World English Bible
“Oh that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
“Who makes me as [in] months past, "" As [in] the days of God’s preserving me?

Young's Literal Translation
Who doth make me as in months past, As in the days of God's preserving me?

Smith's Literal Translation
Who will give me as the months of old, as the days God will watch me?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Who will grant me, that I might be according to the months past, according to the days in which God kept me?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?

New American Bible
Oh, that I were as in the months past, as in the days when God watched over me:

New Revised Standard Version
“O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me;
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
O that I were as in months past, as in the days when God took care of me;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
“But who will make me as the first months and like the days when God preserved me?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Oh that I were as in months past, wherein God preserved me!

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Job's Former Blessings
1And Job continued his discourse: 2“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, 3when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,…

Cross References
Job 1:10
Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Job 42:10-12
After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions. / All his brothers and sisters and prior acquaintances came and dined with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him over all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. And each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. / So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

Psalm 31:20
You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.

Psalm 91:1-2
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. / I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Isaiah 51:9-11
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon? / Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over? / So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.

Isaiah 58:11
The LORD will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Jeremiah 2:2-3
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. / Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her were found guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.

Hosea 2:15
There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 32:10-12
He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye. / As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, He spread His wings to catch them and carried them on His pinions. / The LORD alone led him, and no foreign god was with him.

Psalm 23:4-5
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. / You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Psalm 77:5-6
I considered the days of old, the years long in the past. / At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:

Lamentations 3:17
My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.

1 Peter 1:5-7
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. / In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials / so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

James 5:11
See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, / who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.


Treasury of Scripture

Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

as in months

Job 1:1-5
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil…

Job 7:3
So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.

God

Job 1:10
Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

Jude 1:1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Jump to Previous
Months Past Preserved Watched Watching
Jump to Next
Months Past Preserved Watched Watching
Job 29
1. Job bemoans his former prosperity














How I long
The phrase "How I long" reflects a deep yearning and desire. In Hebrew, the word used here conveys a sense of intense longing or nostalgia. This longing is not just a casual wish but a profound emotional state. Job is expressing a heartfelt desire to return to a time of perceived favor and blessing. This longing is a common human experience, especially in times of suffering, where one looks back to better days with a sense of loss and yearning.

for the months gone by
The "months gone by" indicates a specific period in Job's life that he remembers fondly. In the context of the ancient Near East, time was often measured in months, which were significant markers of agricultural and social life. Job is reminiscing about a time when his life was filled with prosperity and peace. This phrase suggests a longing for stability and the blessings that he once enjoyed, which have now been disrupted by his current suffering.

for the days
The repetition of "for the days" emphasizes the specific and tangible nature of Job's memories. Each day represents a moment in time when Job felt secure and blessed. In the Hebrew context, days are often seen as units of life filled with purpose and divine interaction. Job's reflection on these days highlights the contrast between his past experiences of God's favor and his present suffering.

when God watched over me
The phrase "when God watched over me" is central to Job's lament. The Hebrew root for "watched over" implies a protective, caring oversight, akin to a shepherd watching over his flock. This imagery is rich in biblical tradition, where God's watchful care is a source of comfort and security. Job is recalling a time when he felt God's presence and protection intimately in his life. This phrase underscores the theological tension in the Book of Job, where Job struggles with the perceived absence of God's protection amidst his trials. It reflects a deep-seated belief in God's sovereignty and care, even as Job grapples with his current reality.

(2) Preserved.--Or, watched over me. When does God not watch over us, if we only knew it?

Verse 2. - Oh that I were as in months past! or, in the months of old. To Job the period of his prosperity seems long, long ago - some-thing far away in the mist of time, which he recalls with difficulty. As in the days when God preserved me. Job never forgets to refer his prosperity to God, or to be grateful to him for it (see Job 1:21; Job 2:10; Job 10:8-12, etc.).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“How I long for
מִֽי־ (mî-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

the months
כְיַרְחֵי־ (ḵə·yar·ḥê-)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3391: A lunation, month

gone by,
קֶ֑דֶם (qe·ḏem)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6924: The front, of place, time

for the days
כִּ֝ימֵ֗י (kî·mê)
Preposition-k | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 3117: A day

when God
אֱל֣וֹהַּ (’ĕ·lō·w·ah)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 433: God -- a deity, the Deity

watched over me,
יִשְׁמְרֵֽנִי׃ (yiš·mə·rê·nî)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to


Links
Job 29:2 NIV
Job 29:2 NLT
Job 29:2 ESV
Job 29:2 NASB
Job 29:2 KJV

Job 29:2 BibleApps.com
Job 29:2 Biblia Paralela
Job 29:2 Chinese Bible
Job 29:2 French Bible
Job 29:2 Catholic Bible

OT Poetry: Job 29:2 Oh that I were as (Jb)
Job 29:1
Top of Page
Top of Page