Job 29:1-16 ▼

1 Job continued his poems and said,

2 |If only my life could be like it used to be, in the days when God watched over me,

3 when he made his lamp shine on my head, when I walked through the dark in his light.

4 If only I were in the prime of my life [again], when God was an adviser in my tent.

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

6 my steps were bathed in buttermilk, and the rocks poured streams of olive oil on me.

7 When I went through the city gate and took my seat in the town square,

8 young men saw me and kept out of sight. Old men stood up straight out of respect [for me].

9 Princes held back [their] words and put their hands over their mouths.

10 The voices of nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

11 |[Any] ears that heard me blessed me. [Any] eyes that saw me spoke well of me,

12 because I rescued the poor who called [for help] and the orphans who had no one to help them.

13 I received a blessing from the dying. I made the widow's heart sing for joy.

14 I put on righteousness, and it was my clothing. I practiced justice, and it was my robe and my turban.

15 I was eyes for the blind person. I was feet for the lame person.

16 I was father to the needy. I carefully investigated cases brought by strangers.