Job 29

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¹Job continued speaking: ✦ ²“I long for the years gone by when God took care of me, ✦ ³when he lit up the way before me and I walked safely through the darkness. ✦ ⁴When I was in my prime, God’s friendship was felt in my home. ✦ ⁵The Almighty was still with me, and my children were around me. ✦ ⁶My steps were awash in cream, and the rocks gushed olive oil for me. ✦ ⁷“Those were the days when I went to the city gate and took my place among the honored leaders. ✦ ⁸The young stepped aside when they saw me, and even the aged rose in respect at my coming. ✦ ⁹The princes stood in silence and put their hands over their mouths. ✦ ¹⁰The highest officials of the city stood quietly, holding their tongues in respect. ✦ ¹¹“All who heard me praised me. All who saw me spoke well of me. ✦ ¹²For I assisted the poor in their need and the orphans who required help. ✦ ¹³I helped those without hope, and they blessed me. And I caused the widows’ hearts to sing for joy. ✦ ¹⁴Everything I did was honest. Righteousness covered me like a robe, and I wore justice like a turban. ✦ ¹⁵I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. ✦ ¹⁶I was a father to the poor and assisted strangers who needed help. ✦ ¹⁷I broke the jaws of godless oppressors and plucked their victims from their teeth. ✦ ¹⁸“I thought, ‘Surely I will die surrounded by my family after a long, good life. ✦ ¹⁹For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew. ✦ ²⁰New honors are constantly bestowed on me, and my strength is continually renewed.’ ✦ ²¹“Everyone listened to my advice. They were silent as they waited for me to speak. ✦ ²²And after I spoke, they had nothing to add, for my counsel satisfied them. ✦ ²³They longed for me to speak as people long for rain. They drank my words like a refreshing spring rain. ✦ ²⁴When they were discouraged, I smiled at them. My look of approval was precious to them. ✦ ²⁵Like a chief, I told them what to do. I lived like a king among his troops and comforted those who mourned. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Job 31 ·7 Job 1 ·5 Jas 1 ·3 Eph 5 ·3 Deut 33 ·3 Rom 13 ·3 Job 22 ·3 Job 21 ·2

Christ at the center

Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.

How Job 29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Job videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Job 29YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Job 29David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JobMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Job 29Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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