Job 29-30
GOD’S WORD Translation
Job Continues: My Glorious Past
29 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.
17 I broke the teeth of the wicked person
and made him drop the prey out of his mouth.
18 “I thought, ‘I may die in my own house,
but I will make my days as numerous as the sand.
19 My roots will grow toward the water,
and dew will lie on my branches all night.
20 My power will be fresh ⌞every day⌟,
and the bow in my hand will remain new.’
21 “People listened to me eagerly,
quietly waiting for my advice.
22 After I had spoken, they wouldn’t speak again.
After all, my words fell gently on them.
23 They were as eager to hear me as they were for rain.
They opened their mouths wide as if waiting for a spring shower.
24 When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it,
but the expression on my face did not change.
25 I decided how they should live.
I sat as their leader.
I lived like a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
Job Talks about His Present Misery
30 “But now those who are younger than I am laugh at me.
I didn’t think their fathers were fit to sit with the dogs of my flock.
2 Of what use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their strength is gone.
3 Shriveled up from need and hunger,
they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night.
4 They pick saltwort from the underbrush,
and the roots of the broom plant are their food.[a]
5 They are driven from the community.
People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves.
6 They have to live in dry riverbeds,
in holes in the ground, and among rocks.
7 They howl in bushes
and huddle together under thornbushes.
8 Godless fools and worthless people
are forced out of the land with whips.
9 “And now they make fun of me with songs.
I have become a joke to them.
10 Since they consider me disgusting, they keep their distance from me
and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because God has untied my cord and has made me suffer,
they are no longer restrained in my presence.
12 They have attacked me on my right side like a mob.
They trip my feet
and then prepare ways to destroy me.
13 Yes, they remove all traces of my path in order to destroy me.
No one is there to help me against them.
14 They come through a wide hole ⌞in the wall⌟.
They crawl through the ruins.
15 Terrors are directed toward me.
They blow away my dignity like the wind.
My prosperity vanishes like a cloud.
16 “Now my life is pouring out of me.
Days of suffering seize me.
17 At night God pierces my bones.
My body doesn’t rest.
18 With great strength he grabs my clothes.
He seizes me by the collar of my robe.
19 He throws me into the dirt
so that I become like dust and ashes.
Job Calls on God for Help
20 “I call to you for help,
but you don’t answer me.
I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have begun to treat me cruelly.
With your mighty hand you assault me.
22 You pick me up and let the wind carry me away.
You toss me around with a storm.
23 I know you will lead me to death,
to the dwelling place appointed for all living beings.
Job Says: I Am Being Punished by God
24 “But God doesn’t stretch out his hand against one who is ruined
when that person calls for help in his disaster.
25 Didn’t I cry for the person whose days were difficult?
Didn’t my soul grieve for the poor?
26 When I waited for good, evil came.
When I looked for light, darkness came.
27 My insides are churning and won’t calm down.
Days of misery are ahead of me.
28 I walk in the dark without the sun.
I stand up in public and call for help.
29 I’m a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin turns dark and peels.
My body burns with fever.
31 So my lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for loud weeping.
Footnotes
- 30:4 Or “they use the roots of the broom plant for warmth.”
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