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29:1  Job continued his poems and said,
29:2  "If only my life could be like it used to be, in the days when God watched over me,
29:3  when he made his lamp shine on my head, when I walked through the dark in his light.
29:4  If only I were in the prime of my life [again], when God was an adviser in my tent.
29:5  When the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
29:6  my steps were bathed in buttermilk, and the rocks poured streams of olive oil on me.
29:7  When I went through the city gate and took my seat in the town square,
29:8  young men saw me and kept out of sight. Old men stood up straight out of respect [for me].
29:9  Princes held back [their] words and put their hands over their mouths.
29:10  The voices of nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
29:11  "[Any] ears that heard me blessed me. [Any] eyes that saw me spoke well of me,
29:12  because I rescued the poor who called [for help] and the orphans who had no one to help them.
29:13  I received a blessing from the dying. I made the widow's heart sing for joy.
29:14  I put on righteousness, and it was my clothing. I practiced justice, and it was my robe and my turban.
29:15  I was eyes for the blind person. I was feet for the lame person.
29:16  I was father to the needy. I carefully investigated cases brought by strangers.
29:17  I broke the teeth of the wicked person and made him drop the prey out of his mouth.
29:18  "I thought, 'I may die in my own house, but I will make my days as numerous as the sand.
29:19  My roots will grow toward the water, and dew will lie on my branches all night.
29:20  My power will be fresh [every day], and the bow in my hand will remain new.'
29:21  "People listened to me eagerly, quietly waiting for my advice.
29:22  After I had spoken, they wouldn't speak again. After all, my words fell gently on them.
29:23  They were as eager to hear me as they were for rain. They opened their mouths wide as if waiting for a spring shower.
29:24  When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it, but the expression on my face did not change.
29:25  I decided how they should live. I sat as their leader. I lived like a king among his troops, like one who comforts mourners.