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29:1  Job resumed his discourse. He said:
29:2  Oh how I wish I could be as I used to be in the months gone by, in the days when God used to watch over me,
29:3  when his lamp was shining over my head, and I walked through darkness toward his light,
29:4  when I was in my prime, and the friendly guidance of God was over my tent,
29:5  when the Almighty was still with me, and my children still surrounded me,
29:6  when my footsteps were washed in cream, and a rock poured out streams of oil for me,
29:7  when I went out to the gatehouse of the city, and I took my customary seat in the public square.
29:8  The young men saw me and stepped aside. The elders rose and remained standing in my presence.
29:9  The officials held back their words. They placed their hands over their mouths.
29:10  The voices of the nobles fell silent. Their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
29:11  Every ear that heard what I said called me blessed. Every eye that saw what I did testified on my behalf.
29:12  Because I saved the poor when they cried for help and the fatherless when they had no helper,
29:13  the blessing of the dying rested upon me, and I made the heart of the widow happy.
29:14  I dressed myself with righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice clothed me like a robe and a turban.
29:15  I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.
29:16  I was a father for the needy. I investigated their cases for people I did not know.
29:17  I shattered the fangs of the wicked, and I snatched their prey from their teeth.
29:18  So I thought: “I will pass away in my own nest, after multiplying my days like grains of sand.
29:19  My roots will be soaked with water, and dew will settle on my branches at night.
29:20  My honor will always be fresh for me, and my bow in my hand will never wear out.”
29:21  People listened to me eagerly. They kept silent, waiting for my advice.
29:22  After I spoke, they did not keep speaking. My words fell on them gently.
29:23  They waited for me the way people wait for rain. They opened their mouths the way people wait for spring showers.
29:24  When I laughed with them, they did not believe it. In the light from my face, they were never downcast.
29:25  I chose the way for them, and I was seated as their head, like a king among the troops, like one who comforts mourners.