[29:1] Job began speaking again.
Job
[29:2] If only my life could once again be as it was when God watched over me.
[29:3] God was always with me then and gave me light as I walked through the darkness.
[29:4] Those were the days when I was prosperous, and the friendship of God protected my home.
[29:5] Almighty God was with me then, and I was surrounded by all my children.
[29:6] My cows and goats gave plenty of milk, and my olive trees grew in the rockiest soil.
[29:7] Whenever the city elders met and I took my place among them,
[29:8] young men stepped aside as soon as they saw me, and old men stood up to show me respect.
[29:9] The leaders of the people would stop talking;
[29:10] even the most important men kept silent.
[29:11] Everyone who saw me or heard of me had good things to say about what I had done.
[29:12] When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn.
[29:13] People who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security.
[29:14] I have always acted justly and fairly.
[29:15] I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame.
[29:16] I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.
[29:17] I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.
[29:18] I always expected to live a long life and to die at home in comfort.
[29:19] I was like a tree whose roots always have water and whose branches are wet with dew.
[29:20] Everyone was always praising me, and my strength never failed me.
[29:21] When I gave advice, people were silent and listened carefully to what I said;
[29:22] they had nothing to add when I had finished. My words sank in like drops of rain;
[29:23] everyone welcomed them just as farmers welcome rain in spring.
[29:24] I smiled on them when they had lost confidence; my cheerful face encouraged them.
[29:25] I took charge and made the decisions; I led them as a king leads his troops, and gave them comfort in their despair.
[30:1] But men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I wouldn't let them help my dogs guard sheep.
[30:2] They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me.
[30:3] They were so poor and hungry that they would gnaw dry roots— at night, in wild, desolate places.
[30:4] They pulled up the plants of the desert and ate them, even the tasteless roots of the broom tree!
[30:5] Everyone drove them away with shouts, as if they were shouting at thieves.
[30:6] They had to live in caves, in holes dug in the sides of cliffs.
[30:7] Out in the wilds they howled like animals and huddled together under the bushes.
[30:8] A worthless bunch of nameless nobodies! They were driven out of the land.
[30:9] Now they come and laugh at me; I am nothing but a joke to them.
[30:10] They treat me with disgust; they think they are too good for me, and even come and spit in my face.
[30:11] Because God has made me weak and helpless, they turn against me with all their fury.
[30:12] This mob attacks me head-on; they send me running; they prepare their final assault.
[30:13] They cut off my escape and try to destroy me; and there is no one to stop them.
[30:14] They pour through the holes in my defenses and come crashing down on top of me;
[30:15] I am overcome with terror; my dignity is gone like a puff of wind, and my prosperity like a cloud.
[30:16] Now I am about to die; there is no relief for my suffering.
[30:17] At night my bones all ache; the pain that gnaws me never stops.
[30:18] God seizes me by my collar and twists my clothes out of shape.
[30:19] He throws me down in the mud; I am no better than dirt.
[30:20] I call to you, O God, but you never answer; and when I pray, you pay no attention.
[30:21] You are treating me cruelly; you persecute me with all your power.
[30:22] You let the wind blow me away; you toss me about in a raging storm.
[30:23] I know you are taking me off to my death, to the fate in store for everyone.
[30:24] Why do you attack a ruined man, one who can do nothing but beg for pity?
[30:25] Didn't I weep with people in trouble and feel sorry for those in need?
[30:26] I hoped for happiness and light, but trouble and darkness came instead.
[30:27] I am torn apart by worry and pain; I have had day after day of suffering.
[30:28] I go about in gloom, without any sunshine; I stand up in public and plead for help.
[30:29] My voice is as sad and lonely as the cries of a jackal or an ostrich.
[30:30] My skin has turned dark; I am burning with fever.
[30:31] Where once I heard joyful music, now I hear only mourning and weeping.
[31:1] I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a woman.
[31:2] What does Almighty God do to us? How does he repay human deeds?
[31:3] He sends disaster and ruin to those who do wrong.
[31:4] God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take.
[31:5] I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others.
[31:6] Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am.
[31:7] If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin,
[31:8] then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow.
[31:9] If I have been attracted to my neighbor's wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door,
[31:10] then let my wife cook another man's food and sleep in another man's bed.
[31:11] Such wickedness should be punished by death.
[31:12] It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have.
[31:13] When any of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat them fairly.
[31:14] If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me?
[31:15] The same God who created me created my servants also.
[31:16] I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair
[31:17] or let orphans go hungry while I ate.
[31:18] All my life I have taken care of them.
[31:19] When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes,
[31:20] I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart.
[31:21] If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court,
[31:22] then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.
[31:23] Because I fear God's punishment, I could never do such a thing.
[31:24] I have never trusted in riches
[31:25] or taken pride in my wealth.
[31:26] I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty.
[31:27] I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them.
[31:28] Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God.
[31:29] I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster;
[31:30] I never sinned by praying for their death.
[31:31] All those who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers.
[31:32] I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets.
[31:33] Others try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine.
[31:34] I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn.
[31:35] Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them,
[31:36] I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown.
[31:37] I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence.
[31:38] If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners—
[31:39] if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve—
[31:40] then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended.