Job’s Past Was Glorious
Job again took up his adiscourse and said,Num 23:7; 24:3; Job 13:12; 27:1
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,As in the days when God awatched over me;Jer 31:283 When aHis lamp shone over my head,And bby His light I walked through darkness;Job 18:6Job 11:174 Just as I was in the days of my youth,When the aprotection of God was over my tent;Job 15:8; Ps 25:14; Prov 3:325 When 1the Almighty was still with me,And my children were around me;Heb Shaddai6 When my steps were bathed in acream,And the brock poured out streams of oil for me!Deut 32:14; Job 20:17Deut 32:13; Ps 81:167 “When I went out to athe gate of the city,When I 1took my seat in the public square,Lit set upJob 31:218 The young men saw me and hid themselves,And the old men arose and stood.9 “The leaders astopped talkingAnd bput their hands on their mouths;Job 29:21Job 21:510 The voices of the prominent people were 1ahushed,And their btongues stuck to their palates.Lit hiddenJob 29:22Ps 137:611 “For when aan ear heard, it called me blessed,And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,Job 4:3, 412 Because I saved athe poor who cried for help,And the borphan who had no helper.Job 24:4, 9; 34:28; Ps 72:12; Prov 21:13Job 31:17, 2113 “The blessing of the one who awas about to perish came upon me,And I made the bwidow’s heart sing for joy.Job 31:19Job 22:914 “I aput on righteousness, and it clothed me;My justice was like a robe and a headband.Job 27:5, 6; Ps 132:9; Is 59:17; 61:10; Eph 6:1415 “I was aeyes to those who were blind,And feet to those who 1could not walk.Or limpedNum 10:3116 “I was a father to athe poor,And I investigated the case which I did not know.Job 24:4; Prov 29:717 “I abroke the jaws of the wickedAnd rescued the prey from his teeth.Ps 3:718 “Then I 1thought, ‘I will die with my 2family,And I will multiply my days as the sand.Lit saidLit nest19 ‘My aroot is spread out to the waters,And bdew lies on my branch all night.Jer 17:8Hos 14:520 ‘My glory is ever new with me,And my abow is renewed in my hand.’Gen 49:24; Ps 18:34
21 “To me athey listened and waited,And they kept silent for my advice.Job 4:3; 29:922 “After my words athey did not speak again,And bmy speech dropped on them.Job 29:10Deut 32:223 “They waited for me as for the rain,And opened their mouths as for the late rain.24 “I smiled at them when they did not believe,And they did not look at 1my kindness ungraciously.Lit the light of my face25 “I chose a way for them and sat as achief,And lived as a king among the troops,As one who bcomforted the mourners.Job 1:3; 31:37Job 4:4; 16:5