Job 29:1-31:40

Job 29:1-25 (NASB) 
¹ And Job again took up his discourse and said,
² "Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;
³ When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;
⁴ As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;
⁵ When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were around me;
⁶ When my steps were bathed in butter, And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
⁷ "When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the square,
⁸ The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.
⁹ "The princes stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;
¹⁰ The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to their palate.
¹¹ "For when the ear heard, it called me blessed, And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
¹² Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper.
¹³ "The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, And I made the widow's heart sing for joy.
¹⁴ "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban.
¹⁵ "I was eyes to the blind And feet to the lame.
¹⁶ "I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.
¹⁷ "I broke the jaws of the wicked And snatched the prey from his teeth.
¹⁸ "Then I thought, 'I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
¹⁹ 'My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch.
²⁰ 'My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.'
²¹ "To me they listened and waited, And kept silent for my counsel.
²² "After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them.
²³ "They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.
²⁴ "I smiled on them when they did not believe, And the light of my face they did not cast down.
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.

Job 30:1-31 (NASB) 
¹ "But now those younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
² "Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me? Vigor had perished from them.
³ "From want and famine they are gaunt Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
⁴ Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
⁵ "They are driven from the community; They shout against them as against a thief,
⁶ So that they dwell in dreadful valleys, In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
⁷ "Among the bushes they cry out; Under the nettles they are gathered together.
⁸ "Fools, even those without a name, They were scourged from the land.
⁹ "And now I have become their taunt, I have even become a byword to them.
¹⁰ "They abhor me and stand aloof from me, And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.
¹¹ "Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off the bridle before me.
¹² "On the right hand their brood arises; They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ "They break up my path, They profit from my destruction; No one restrains them.
¹⁴ "As through a wide breach they come, Amid the tempest they roll on.
¹⁵ "Terrors are turned against me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.
¹⁶ "And now my soul is poured out within me; Days of affliction have seized me.
¹⁷ "At night it pierces my bones within me, And my gnawing pains take no rest.
¹⁸ "By a great force my garment is distorted; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
¹⁹ "He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
²⁰ "I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
²¹ "You have become cruel to me; With the might of Your hand You persecute me.
²² "You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride; And You dissolve me in a storm.
²³ "For I know that You will bring me to death And to the house of meeting for all living.
²⁴ "Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand, Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?
²⁵ "Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
²⁶ "When I expected good, then evil came; When I waited for light, then darkness came.
²⁷ "I am seething within and cannot relax; Days of affliction confront me.
²⁸ "I go about mourning without comfort; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
²⁹ "I have become a brother to jackals And a companion of ostriches.
³⁰ "My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever.
³¹ "Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Job 31:1-40 (NASB) 
¹ "I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?
² "And what is the portion of God from above Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
³ "Is it not calamity to the unjust And disaster to those who work iniquity?
⁴ "Does He not see my ways And number all my steps?
⁵ "If I have walked with falsehood, And my foot has hastened after deceit,
⁶ Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.
⁷ "If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.
⁹ "If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor's doorway,
¹⁰ May my wife grind for another, And let others kneel down over her.
¹¹ "For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
¹² "For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.
¹³ "If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me,
¹⁴ What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
¹⁵ "Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?
¹⁶ "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it
¹⁸ (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from infancy I guided her),
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering,
²⁰ If his loins have not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate,
²² Let my shoulder fall from the socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
²³ "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
²⁴ "If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust,
²⁵ If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had secured so much;
²⁶ If I have looked at the sun when it shone Or the moon going in splendor,
²⁷ And my heart became secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
²⁸ That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.
²⁹ "Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy, Or exulted when evil befell him?
³⁰ "No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse.
³¹ "Have the men of my tent not said, 'Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat'?
³² "The alien has not lodged outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler.
³³ "Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
³⁴ Because I feared the great multitude, And the contempt of families terrified me, And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
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,
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, I would bind it to myself like a crown.
³⁷ "I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.
³⁸ "If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;
³⁹ If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
⁴⁰ Let briars grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.