Job 29
1 addidit quoque Iob adsumens parabolam suam et dixit
And Job continued his discourse:
2 quis mihi tribuat ut sim iuxta menses pristinos secundum dies quibus Deus custodiebat me
“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
3 quando splendebat lucerna eius super caput meum et ad lumen eius ambulabam in tenebris
when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness,
4 sicut fui in diebus adulescentiae meae quando secreto Deus erat in tabernaculo meo
when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent,
5 quando erat Omnipotens mecum et in circuitu meo pueri mei
when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
6 quando lavabam pedes meos butyro et petra fundebat mihi rivos olei
when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
7 quando procedebam ad portam civitatis et in platea parabant cathedram mihi
When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
8 videbant me iuvenes et abscondebantur et senes adsurgentes stabant
the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet.
9 principes cessabant loqui et digitum superponebant ori suo
The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands.
10 vocem suam cohibebant duces et lingua eorum gutturi suo adherebat
The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11 auris audiens beatificabat me et oculus videns testimonium reddebat mihi
For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
12 quod liberassem pauperem vociferantem et pupillum cui non esset adiutor
because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper.
13 benedictio perituri super me veniebat et cor viduae consolatus sum
The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 iustitia indutus sum et vestivit me sicut vestimento et diademate iudicio meo
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban.
15 oculus fui caeco et pes claudo
I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.
16 pater eram pauperum et causam quam nesciebam diligentissime investigabam
I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
17 conterebam molas iniqui et de dentibus illius auferebam praedam
I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 dicebamque in nidulo meo moriar et sicut palma multiplicabo dies
So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand.
19 radix mea aperta est secus aquas et ros morabitur in messione mea
My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.
20 gloria mea semper innovabitur et arcus meus in manu mea instaurabitur
My glory is ever new within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 qui me audiebant expectabant sententiam et intenti tacebant ad consilium meum
Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel.
22 verbis meis addere nihil audebant et super illos stillabat eloquium meum
After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.
23 expectabant me sicut pluviam et os suum aperiebant quasi ad imbrem serotinum
They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers.
24 si quando ridebam ad eos non credebant et lux vultus mei non cadebat in terram
If I smiled at them, they did not believe it; the light of my countenance was precious.
25 si voluissem ire ad eos sedebam primus cumque sederem quasi rex circumstante exercitu eram tamen maerentium consolator
I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
