Job 29:2 "Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;

Job 29:3 When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;

Job 29:4 As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;

Job 29:5 When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me;

Job 29:6 When my steps were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

Job 29:7 "When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the square,

Job 29:8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.

Job 29:9 "The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;

Job 29:10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to their palate.

Job 29:11 "For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,

Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper.

Job 29:13 "The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, And I made the widow's heart sing for joy.

Job 29:14 "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.

Job 29:15 "I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame.

Job 29:16 "I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

Job 29:17 "I broke the jaws of the wicked And snatched the prey from his teeth.

Job 29:18 "Then I thought, 'I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

Job 29:19 'My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch.

Job 29:20 'My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'

Job 29:21 "To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel.

Job 29:22 "After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them.

Job 29:23 "They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.

Job 29:24 "I smiled on them when they did not believe, And the light of my face they did not cast down.

Job 29:25 "I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.

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Job 30:1 "But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

Job 30:2 "Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.

Job 30:3 "From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

Job 30:4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

Job 30:5 "They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,

Job 30:6 So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

Job 30:7 "Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together.

Job 30:8 "Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land.

Job 30:9 "And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.

Job 30:10 "They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.

Job 30:11 "Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.

Job 30:12 "On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.

Job 30:13 "They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them.

Job 30:14 "As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on.

Job 30:15 "Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

Job 30:16 "And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me.

Job 30:17 "At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest.

Job 30:18 "By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

Job 30:19 "He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.

Job 30:20 "I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

Job 30:21 "You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me.

Job 30:22 "You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm.

Job 30:23 "For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living.

Job 30:24 "Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

Job 30:25 "Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

Job 30:26 "When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.

Job 30:27 "I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me.

Job 30:28 "I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

Job 30:29 "I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches.

Job 30:30 "My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.

Job 30:31 "Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

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Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?

Job 31:2 "And what is the portion of God from above Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?

Job 31:3 "Is it not calamity to the unjust And disaster to those who work iniquity?

Job 31:4 "Does He not see my ways And number all my steps?

Job 31:5 "If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hastened after deceit,

Job 31:6 Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.

Job 31:7 "If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,

Job 31:8 Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.

Job 31:9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor's doorway,

Job 31:10 May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.

Job 31:11 "For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.

Job 31:12 "For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.

Job 31:13 "If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,

Job 31:14 What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

Job 31:15 "Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?

Job 31:16 "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,

Job 31:17 Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it

Job 31:18 ( But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her),

Job 31:19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,

Job 31:20 If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

Job 31:21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,

Job 31:22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

Job 31:23 "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

Job 31:24 "If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,

Job 31:25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so much;

Job 31:26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor,

Job 31:27 And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,

Job 31:28 That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.

Job 31:29 "Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him?

Job 31:30 "No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.

Job 31:31 "Have the men of my tent not said, 'Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat'?

Job 31:32 "The alien has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

Job 31:33 "Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,

Job 31:34 Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And kept silent and did not go out of doors?

Job 31:35 "Oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written,

Job 31:36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown.

Job 31:37 "I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.

Job 31:38 "If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;

Job 31:39 If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,

Job 31:40 Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.