Job 29
1 Job spoke again,
Addidit quoque Job, assumens parabolam suam, et dixit:
2 “I wish/desire that I could be like I was previously, during the years when God took care of me.
Quis mihi tribuat ut sim juxta menses pristinos, secundum dies quibus Deus custodiebat me?
3 During those years, [it was as though] God’s lamp [MET] shone on me and gave me light while I walked in the darkness.
Quando splendebat lucerna ejus super caput meum, et ad lumen ejus ambulabam in tenebris:
4 At that time I was young and strong, and because God was my friend, [he protected] [PRS] my tent.
sicut fui in diebus adolescentiæ meæ, quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo:
5 Almighty [God] was with me during those years when all my children were around me.
quando erat Omnipotens mecum, et in circuitu meo pueri mei:
6 [My herds] provided me with plenty of milk, and streams of oil flowed from the rock where my olives were pressed.
quando lavabam pedes meos butyro, et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei:
7 “Whenever I went to [the place where the elders gathered at] the city gate, I sat down with them,
quando procedebam ad portam civitatis, et in platea parabant cathedram mihi.
8 and when the young men saw me, they stepped aside [respectfully], and the old men [also] stood [respectfully].
Videbant me juvenes, et abscondebantur: et senes assurgentes stabant.
9 The leaders of the people stopped talking [DOU],
Principes cessabant loqui, et digitum superponebant ori suo.
10 and even the most important men became quiet and ceased talking [MTY] [in order to hear me speak to them].
Vocem suam cohibebant duces, et lingua eorum gutturi suo adhærebat.
11 When they [SYN] all heard [what I told them], they said good things about me. When they [SYN] saw me (OR, what I had done), they commended me,
Auris audiens beatificabat me, et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi:
12 because I had helped the poor people when they cried out for help and I aided/helped orphans who had no one else to help them.
eo quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem, et pupillum cui non esset adjutor.
13 Those who were suffering and about to die praised [PRS] me, and I caused widows [SYN] to sing joyfully, [because of my helping them].
Benedictio perituri super me veniebat, et cor viduæ consolatus sum.
14 I always acted justly; my continually doing that was like [MET] a robe that I wore and a turban [that was wrapped around my head].
Justitia indutus sum, et vestivi me, sicut vestimento et diademate, judicio meo.
15 [It was as though] [MET] I was eyes for blind people and feet for people who were lame.
Oculus fui cæco, et pes claudo.
16 I was [like] [MET] a father to poor people, and in courts I defended those who were strangers.
Pater eram pauperum, et causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam.
17 My causing wicked people [to be unable to continue oppressing others was like] [MET] breaking the fangs [of fierce wild animals] and forcing them to drop from their teeth/mouths the animals that they had caught/seized.
Conterebam molas iniqui, et de dentibus illius auferebam prædam.
18 “At that time I thought, ‘Surely I will live securely, until I am very old [SIM], and I will die at home [with my family].’
Dicebamque: In nidulo meo moriar, et sicut palma multiplicabo dies.
19 I was [like a tree] [MET] whose roots reach down into the water and whose branches become wet with dew each night.
Radix mea aperta est secus aquas, et ros morabitur in messione mea.
20 People always honored me, and I was always [strong like] [MET] a new bow.
Gloria mea semper innovabitur, et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur.
21 “When I spoke, people waited to hear [what I would say] and remained silent until I advised them [what they should do].
Qui me audiebant, expectabant sententiam, et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum.
22 After I finished speaking, they did not say any more; [it was as though] [MET] my words fell on their ears [like refreshing drops of rain].
Verbis meis addere nihil audebant, et super illos stillabat eloquium meum.
23 They waited for me [to speak] like they wait for rain; they [appreciated what I said] like [MET] [farmers appreciate] the final rain in the spring [before the dry season].
Expectabant me sicut pluviam, et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum.
24 When they were discouraged, I smiled at them [to encourage them]; they became encouraged when they saw that I approved of them.
Siquando ridebam ad eos, non credebant: et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram.
25 I was their leader, and I decided what things [would be good for them to do]; I was among them like [SIM] a king who is among his troops; I was like someone who comforts [others] who are mourning.”
Si voluissem ire ad eos, sedebam primus: cumque sederem quasi rex, circumstante exercitu, eram tamen mœrentium consolator.
