Job’s Soliloquy[a]
The Happiness of the Good Old Days
29 Job resumed his discourse. He said:
2 Oh how I wish I could be as I used to be
in the months gone by,
in the days when God used to watch over me,
3 when his lamp was shining over my head,
and I walked through darkness toward[b] his light,
4 when I was in my prime,
and the friendly guidance of God was over my tent,
5 when the Almighty was still with me,
and my children still surrounded me,
6 when my footsteps were washed in cream,
and a rock poured out streams of oil for me,
7 when I went out to the gatehouse[c] of the city,
and I took my customary seat in the public square.
8 The young men saw me and stepped aside.
The elders rose and remained standing in my presence.
9 The officials held back their words.
They placed their hands over their mouths.
10 The voices of the nobles fell silent.
Their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 Every ear that heard what I said called me blessed.
Every eye that saw what I did testified on my behalf.
12 Because I saved the poor when they cried for help
and the fatherless when they had no helper,
13 the blessing of the dying rested upon me,
and I made the heart of the widow happy.
14 I dressed myself with righteousness,
and it clothed me.
My justice clothed me like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.
16 I was a father for the needy.
I investigated their cases for people I did not know.
17 I shattered the fangs of the wicked,
and I snatched their prey from their teeth.
18 So I thought: “I will pass away in my own nest,
after multiplying my days like grains of sand.
19 My roots will be soaked with water,
and dew will settle on my branches at night.
20 My honor will always be fresh for me,
and my bow in my hand will never wear out.”
21 People listened to me eagerly.
They kept silent, waiting for my advice.
22 After I spoke, they did not keep speaking.[d]
My words fell on them gently.
23 They waited for me the way people wait for rain.
They opened their mouths the way people wait for spring showers.
24 When I laughed with them, they did not believe it.
In the light from my face, they were never downcast.
25 I chose the way for them,
and I was seated as their head,
like a king among the troops,
like one who comforts mourners.