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Job 29 - Good News Bible bible

Job 29

¹Job began speaking again.

²If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.

³God was always with me then and gave me light as I walked through the darkness.

⁴Those were the days when I was prosperous, and the friendship of God protected my home.

⁵Almighty God was with me then, and I was surrounded by all my children.

⁶My cows and goats gave plenty of milk, and my olive trees grew in the rockiest soil.

⁷Whenever the city elders met and I took my place among them,

⁸young men stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and old men stood up to show me respect.

⁹The leaders of the people would stop talking;

¹⁰even the most important men kept silent.

¹¹Everyone who saw me or heard of me had good things to say about what I had done.

¹²When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.

¹³People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.

¹⁴I have always acted justly and fairly.

¹⁵I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.

¹⁶I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.

¹⁷I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.

¹⁸I always expected to live a long life and to die at home in comfort.

¹⁹I was like a tree whose roots always have water and whose branches are wet with dew.

²⁰Everyone was always praising me, and my strength never failed me.

²¹When I gave advice, people were silent and listened carefully to what I said;

²²they had nothing to add when I had finished. My words sank in like drops of rain;

²³everyone welcomed them just as farmers welcome rain in spring.

²⁴I smiled on them when they had lost confidence; my cheerful face encouraged them.

²⁵I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.