Job 29:12

12 because I saved [the] needy who cried for help, and [I saved] [the] orphan for whom [there was] no helper.

Job 29:12 Meaning and Commentary

Job 29:12

Because I delivered the poor that cried
This honour and esteem he had not because of his grandeur and riches, because of his worldly wealth and substance, but because of the goodness of his disposition, and because of the good he did to men, his acts of pity and compassion to the poor, and of the justice he did to all men; the poor and the afflicted, when they cried to him for help, he delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors:

and the fatherless;
the care and defence of which belongs to judges and civil magistrates, see ( Psalms 82:1-4 ) ;

[and him that] had none to help him;
as the poor and fatherless seldom have; there is power on the side of the oppressors of them, but they have few or none to take their parts, and to be their comforters, ( Ecclesiastes 4:1 ) ; in these instances Job imitated God, and was a follower of him, as a dear child of his; who, when this and the other poor man cries unto him, he hears, saves, and delivers out of all their troubles; he is the helper, yea, the father of the fatherless, and the judge of the widow; and, when there is no help from men, he is a present help in times of need.

Job 29:12 In-Context

10 [The] voices of nobles were hushed, and their tongue stuck to their palate.
11 "When [the] ear heard and commended me, and [the] eye saw and testified in support of me
12 because I saved [the] needy who cried for help, and [I saved] [the] orphan for whom [there was] no helper.
13 [The] blessing of [the] wretched came upon me, and I caused [the] widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice [was] like a robe and a headband.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Supplying the elided verb from the preceding parallel line
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.