Job 29:14-24

14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
19 My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
20 My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’
21 “People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.[a]

Job 29:14-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 29

In this chapter Job gives an account of his former and wishes it was with him now as then; and which he describes with respect to his own person, and the favours he personally enjoyed, whether temporal or spiritual, Job 29:1-4; with respect to his family and domestic affairs, Job 29:5,6; with regard to the esteem he had from men of every age and station, Job 29:7-11; the reasons of which were the mercy and compassion he showed to the poor, the fatherless, and the widow, and the justice he administered in the execution of his office as a magistrate, Job 29:12-17; in which honour and prosperity he expected to have lived and died, Job 29:18-20; and which he further describes by the respect he had among men, and the power and authority he exercised over them, Job 29:21-25.

Cross References 21

  • 1. S 2 Samuel 8:15; S Job 27:6; Psalms 132:9; Isaiah 59:17; Isaiah 61:10; Ephesians 4:24; Ephesians 6:14
  • 2. S Job 19:9
  • 3. Numbers 10:31
  • 4. S Job 4:4
  • 5. S Job 24:4; Proverbs 29:7
  • 6. Exodus 18:26
  • 7. S Job 4:4; Proverbs 22:22-23
  • 8. Job 24:9
  • 9. S Job 4:10,11; S Psalms 3:7
  • 10. Psalms 1:1-3; Psalms 15:5; Psalms 16:8; Psalms 30:6; Psalms 62:2; Psalms 139:18; Proverbs 3:1-2
  • 11. S Numbers 24:6; S Job 14:9; Job 18:16; Jeremiah 17:8
  • 12. S Genesis 27:8; S Job 15:30; S Psalms 133:3
  • 13. Psalms 92:14
  • 14. Job 30:11; Psalms 18:34; Isaiah 38:12
  • 15. Genesis 49:24
  • 16. S ver 7,S 9
  • 17. ver 10
  • 18. Deuteronomy 32:2
  • 19. S Job 4:3
  • 20. S Numbers 6:25
  • 21. Proverbs 16:14,15

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
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