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29:1  Job continued ·to speak [L his discourse; 27:1]:
29:2  “How I wish for the months ·that have passed [of old] and the days when God ·watched over [protected; guarded] me.
29:3  God’s lamp shined ·on [or over] my head, and I walked ·through [in] darkness by his light.
29:4  I wish for the days when I was ·strong [in the prime of my life], when God’s close friendship ·blessed my house [L was over my tent].
29:5  ·The Almighty [Shaddai] was still with me, and my children were all around me.
29:6  It was as if my ·path [or steps] were covered with ·cream [or butter] and the rocks poured out olive oil for me [C representing his earlier prosperity; 1:1–5].
29:7  I would go to the city gate and sit in the public square [C indicating Job was a city leader/elder].
29:8  When the young men saw me, they would ·step aside [or hide], and the old men would stand up in respect.
29:9  The ·leading men [princes] ·stopped speaking [L grew silent] and covered their mouths with their hands.
29:10  The voices of the ·important men [nobles] ·were quiet [grew silent], as if their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
29:11  ·Anyone [L Any ear] who heard me ·spoke well of [L blessed] me, and ·those who [L the eye that] saw me ·praised [L bore testimony to] me,
29:12  because I ·saved [rescued] the poor who ·called out [L cried for help] and the orphan who had no one to help.
29:13  The ·dying [L perishing] person blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart ·sing [L shout for joy].
29:14  I ·put on right living as if it were clothing [L clothed myself with righteousness and it clothed me]; I wore ·fairness [justice] like a robe and a turban.
29:15  I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.
29:16  I was like a father to needy people, and I ·took the side of [examined the cause of] ·strangers who were in trouble [L strangers; those I did not know].
29:17  I broke the ·fangs [or jaw] of evil people and snatched the ·captives [L prey; C the wicked are predators] from their teeth.
29:18  “I thought, ‘I will ·live for as many days as there are grains of [L multiply my days like] sand, and I will die in my ·own house [L nest].
29:19  My roots ·will reach down [opened] to the water. The dew ·will lie [lodged] on the branches all night.
29:20  ·New honors will come to me continually [My honor/or liver/heart was new], and ·I will always have great strength [L my bow was renewed within my hand].’
29:21  “People listened to me carefully and waited ·quietly [silently] for my advice.
29:22  After I finished speaking, they spoke no more. My words ·fell [L dripped] very gently on their ears.
29:23  They waited for me as they would for rain and ·drank in my words like [L opened their mouth for] spring rain.
29:24  I smiled at them when they ·doubted [L had no confidence], and ·my approval was important to them [L they did not frown at the light of my countenance].
29:25  I chose the way for them and ·was their leader [L sat as their chief]. I lived like a king among his army, like a person who comforts ·sad [mourning] people.