Job 29

1Moreover Job continued his speech and said:

ἔτι δὲ προσθεὶς Ιωβ εἶπεν τῷ προοιμίῳ

2'Who may put me in months past, As in the days when God protected me

τίς ἄν με θείη κατὰ μῆνα ἔμπροσθεν ἡμερῶν ὧν με ὁ θεὸς ἐφύλαξεν

3As when His lamp shone upon my head, And by His light I walked in the darkness;

ὡς ὅτε ηὔγει ὁ λύχνος αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς μου ὅτε τῷ φωτὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπορευόμην ἐν σκότει

4As when I steadfastly pursued my ways, When God's visitation was over my house;

ὅτε ἤμην ἐπιβρίθων ὁδοῖς ὅτε ὁ θεὸς ἐπισκοπὴν ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ οἴκου μου

5As when I lived in abundance, And my children were around me;

ὅτε ἤμην ὑλώδης λίαν κύκλῳ δέ μου οἱ παῖδες

6As when my roads spread out with butter, And the mountains flowed with milk for me;

ὅτε ἐχέοντό μου αἱ ὁδοὶ βουτύρῳ τὰ δὲ ὄρη μου ἐχέοντο γάλακτι

7'As when I went early in the city, And took my seat in the open square;

ὅτε ἐξεπορευόμην ὄρθριος ἐν πόλει ἐν δὲ πλατείαις ἐτίθετό μου ὁ δίφρος

8The young men saw me and hid, And all the old men stood up.

ἰδόντες με νεανίσκοι ἐκρύβησαν πρεσβῦται δὲ πάντες ἔστησαν

9The great men refrained from talking And put their finger to their mouth.

ἁδροὶ δὲ ἐπαύσαντο λαλοῦντες δάκτυλον ἐπιθέντες ἐπὶ στόματι

10Those who heard me blessed me, And their tongue stuck to their throat.

οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐμακάρισάν με καὶ γλῶσσα αὐτῶν τῷ λάρυγγι αὐτῶν ἐκολλήθη

11The ear heard and blessed me, And the eye saw me and turned aside.

ὅτι οὖς ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐμακάρισέν με ὀφθαλμὸς δὲ ἰδών με ἐξέκλινεν

12For I saved the poor from the hand of the oppressor And helped the orphan who had no helper.

διέσωσα γὰρ πτωχὸν ἐκ χειρὸς δυνάστου καὶ ὀρφανῷ ᾧ οὐκ ἦν βοηθός ἐβοήθησα

13The blessing of the perishing man came upon me, And the widow's mouth blessed me.

εὐλογία ἀπολλυμένου ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ἔλθοι στόμα δὲ χήρας με εὐλόγησεν

14I put on righteousness And clothed myself with judgment like a robe.

δικαιοσύνην δὲ ἐνεδεδύκειν ἠμφιασάμην δὲ κρίμα ἴσα διπλοΐδι

15I was the eye of the blind and the foot of the lame.

ὀφθαλμὸς ἤμην τυφλῶν ποὺς δὲ χωλῶν

16I was the father of the weak, And I searched out the cause I did not know.

ἐγὼ ἤμην πατὴρ ἀδυνάτων δίκην δέ ἣν οὐκ ᾔδειν ἐξιχνίασα

17I broke the molars of the wrongdoers And plucked the spoil from the midst of their teeth.

συνέτριψα δὲ μύλας ἀδίκων ἐκ δὲ μέσου τῶν ὀδόντων αὐτῶν ἅρπαγμα ἐξέσπασα

18'Then I said, 'My age shall continue as the stem of a palm tree, And I shall live a long while.'

εἶπα δέ ἡ ἡλικία μου γηράσει ὥσπερ στέλεχος φοίνικος πολὺν χρόνον βιώσω

19My root was spread out to the waters, And the dew would settle on my harvest.

ἡ ῥίζα μου διήνοικται ἐπὶ ὕδατος καὶ δρόσος αὐλισθήσεται ἐν τῷ θερισμῷ μου

20My glory was fresh within me, And my bow prospered in its hand.

ἡ δόξα μου καινὴ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ καὶ τὸ τόξον μου ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ πορεύσεται

21'Men heard and listened to me And kept silence for my counsel.

ἐμοῦ ἀκούσαντες προσέσχον ἐσιώπησαν δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐμῇ βουλῇ

22At my word they did not speak again, And they were very glad when I spoke to them.

ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ἐμῷ ῥήματι οὐ προσέθεντο περιχαρεῖς δὲ ἐγίνοντο ὁπόταν αὐτοῖς ἐλάλουν

23They waited for my speech As the thirsty earth for the rain.

ὥσπερ γῆ διψῶσα προσδεχομένη τὸν ὑετόν οὕτως οὗτοι τὴν ἐμὴν λαλιάν

24If I laughed at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance did not fail.

ἐὰν γελάσω πρὸς αὐτούς οὐ μὴ πιστεύσωσιν καὶ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου μου οὐκ ἀπέπιπτεν

25I chose the way for them and sat as a ruler; And I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners.

ἐξελεξάμην ὁδὸν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐκάθισα ἄρχων καὶ κατεσκήνουν ὡσεὶ βασιλεὺς ἐν μονοζώνοις ὃν τρόπον παθεινοὺς παρακαλῶν