Job 29

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¹Also Joob addide, takynge his parable, and seide,

²Who yyueth to me, that I be bisidis the elde monethis, bi the daies in whiche God kepte me?

³Whanne his lanterne schynede on myn heed, and Y yede in derknessis at his liyt.

⁴As Y was in the daies of my yongthe, whanne in priuete God was in my tabernacle.

⁵Whanne Almyyti God was with me, and my children weren in my cumpas;

⁶whanne Y waischide my feet in botere, and the stoon schedde out to me the stremes of oile;

⁷whanne Y yede forth to the yate of the citee, and in the street thei maden redi a chaier to me.

⁸Yonge men, `that is, wantoun, sien me, and weren hid, and elde men risynge vp stoden;

⁹princes ceessiden to speke, and puttiden the fyngur on her mouth;

¹⁰duykis refreyneden her vois, and her tunge cleuyde to her throte.

¹¹An eere herynge blesside me, and an iye seynge yeldide witnessyng to me;

¹²for Y hadde delyueride a pore man criynge, and a fadirles child, that hadde noon helpere.

¹³The blessyng of a man `to perische cam on me, and Y coumfortide the herte of a widewe.

¹⁴Y was clothid with riytfulnesse; and Y clothide me as with a cloth, and with my `doom a diademe.

¹⁵Y was iye `to a blynde man, and foot to a crokyd man.

¹⁶Y was a fadir of pore men; and Y enqueride most diligentli the cause, which Y knew not.

¹⁷Y al tobrak the grete teeth of the wickid man, and Y took awei prey fro hise teeth.

¹⁸And Y seide, Y schal die in my nest; and as a palm tre Y schal multiplie daies.

¹⁹My roote is openyde bisidis watris, and deew schal dwelle in my repyng.

²⁰My glorie schal euere be renulid, and my bouwe schal be astorid in myn hond.

²¹Thei, that herden me, abiden my sentence; and thei weren ententif, and weren stille to my counsel.

²²Thei dursten no thing adde to my wordis; and my speche droppide on hem.

²³Thei abididen me as reyn; and thei openyden her mouth as to the softe reyn `comynge late.

²⁴If ony tyme Y leiyide to hem, thei bileueden not; and the liyt of my cheer felde not doun in to erthe.

²⁵If Y wolde go to hem, Y sat the firste; and whanne Y sat as kyng, while the oost stood aboute, netheles Y was comfortour of hem that morenyden.

Job 29

¹Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,

²Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;

³When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;

⁴As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

⁵When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me;

⁶When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;

⁷When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!

⁸The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.

⁹The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

¹⁰The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

¹¹When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:

¹²Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.

¹³The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.

¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.

¹⁵I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.

¹⁶I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.

¹⁷And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

¹⁸Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

¹⁹My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.

²⁰My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.

²¹Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.

²²After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.

²³And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

²⁴If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.

²⁵I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.