Job 29
1 addidit quoque Iob adsumens parabolam suam et dixit
And Job addeth to lift up his simile, and saith: —
2 quis mihi tribuat ut sim iuxta menses pristinos secundum dies quibus Deus custodiebat me
Who doth make me as [in] months past, As [in] the days of God's preserving me?
3 quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris
In His causing His lamp to shine on my head, By His light I walk [through] darkness.
4 sicut fui in diebus adulescentiae meae quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo
As I have been in days of my maturity, And the counsel of God upon my tent.
5 quando erat Omnipotens mecum et in circuitu meo pueri mei
When yet the Mighty One [is] with me. Round about me — my young ones,
6 quando lavabam pedes meos butyro et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei
When washing my goings with butter, And the firm rock [is] with me rivulets of oil.
7 quando procedebam ad portam civitatis et in platea parabant cathedram mihi
When I go out to the gate by the city, In a broad place I prepare my seat.
8 videbant me iuvenes et abscondebantur et senes adsurgentes stabant
Seen me have youths, and they, been hidden, And the aged have risen — they stood up.
9 principes cessabant loqui et digitum superponebant ori suo
Princes have kept in words, And a hand they place on their mouth.
10 vocem suam cohibebant duces et lingua eorum gutturi suo adherebat
The voice of leaders hath been hidden, And their tongue to the palate hath cleaved.
11 auris audiens beatificabat me et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi
For the ear heard, and declareth me happy, And the eye hath seen, and testifieth [to] me.
12 quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem et pupillum cui non esset adiutor
For I deliver the afflicted who is crying, And the fatherless who hath no helper.
13 benedictio perituri super me veniebat et cor viduae consolatus sum
The blessing of the perishing cometh on me, And the heart of the widow I cause to sing.
14 iustitia indutus sum et vestivit me sicut vestimento et diademate iudicio meo
Righteousness I have put on, and it clotheth me, As a robe and a diadem my justice.
15 oculus fui caeco et pes claudo
Eyes I have been to the blind, And feet to the lame [am] I.
16 pater eram pauperum et causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam
A father I [am] to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out.
17 conterebam molas iniqui et de dentibus illius auferebam praedam
And I break the jaw-teeth of the perverse, And from his teeth I cast away prey.
18 dicebamque in nidulo meo moriar et sicut palma multiplicabo dies
And I say, 'With my nest I expire, And as the sand I multiply days.'
19 radix mea aperta est secus aquas et ros morabitur in messione mea
My root is open unto the waters, And dew doth lodge on my branch.
20 gloria mea semper innovabitur et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur
My honour [is] fresh with me, And my bow in my hand is renewed.
21 qui me audiebant expectabant sententiam et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum
To me they have hearkened, Yea, they wait, and are silent for my counsel.
22 verbis meis addere nihil audebant et super illos stillabat eloquium meum
After my word they change not, And on them doth my speech drop,
23 expectabant me sicut pluviam et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum
And they wait as [for] rain for me, And their mouth they have opened wide [As] for the latter rain.
24 si quando ridebam ad eos non credebant et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram
I laugh unto them — they give no credence, And the light of my face cause not to fall.
25 si voluissem ire ad eos sedebam primus cumque sederem quasi rex circumstante exercitu eram tamen maerentium consolator
I choose their way, and sit head, And I dwell as a king in a troop, When mourners he doth comfort.
