Job's Summary Defense

Job 29

1 And Job again z took up his discourse, and said:

2 "Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
 3 when his a lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
 4 as I was in my prime, 1
when the b friendship of God was upon my tent,
 5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my c children were all around me,
 6 when my steps were d washed with e butter,
and f the rock poured out for me streams of g oil!
 7 When I went out to h the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
 8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
 9 the princes refrained from talking
and i laid their hand on their mouth;
 10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their j tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
 11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
 12 because I k delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
 13 l The blessing of him who was m about to perish came upon me,
and I caused n the widow's heart to sing for joy.
 14 I o put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and p a turban.
 15 I was q eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
 16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out r the cause of him whom I did not know.
 17 I s broke t the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
 18 u Then I thought, 'I shall die in my v nest,
and I shall multiply my days as w the sand,
 19 my x roots spread out to y the waters,
with the dew all night on my z branches,
 20 my glory fresh with me,
and my a bow ever b new in my hand.'

21 "Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
 22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word c dropped upon them.
 23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they d opened their mouths as for the e spring rain.
 24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and f the light of my g face they did not cast down.
 25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like h a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

Job 30

1 "But now they i laugh at me,
men who are j younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
 2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
k men whose l vigor is gone?
 3 Through want and hard hunger
they m gnaw n the dry ground by night in o waste and desolation;
 4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food. 2
5 p They are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
 6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of q the rocks.
 7 Among the bushes they r bray;
under s the nettles they huddle together.
 8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.

9 "And now I have become their t song;
I am u a byword to them.
 10 They v abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to w spit at the sight of me.
 11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint 3 in my presence.
 12 On my x right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they y cast up against me their ways of destruction.
 13 They break up my path;
they promote my z calamity;
they need no one to help them.
 14 As through a wide a breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
 15 b Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like c a cloud.

16 "And now my soul is d poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
 17 e The night f racks my bones,
and the pain that g gnaws me takes no rest.
 18 With great force my garment is h disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
 19 God 4 has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like i dust and ashes.
 20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
 21 You have j turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you k persecute me.
 22 l You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
 23 m For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for n all living.

24 "Yet does not one in a o heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help? 5
25 Did not I p weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
 26 But q when I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, r darkness came.
 27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction s come to meet me.
 28 I t go about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in u the assembly and cry for help.
 29 I am a brother of v jackals
and a companion of w ostriches.
 30 My x skin turns black and falls from me,
and my y bones burn with heat.
 31 My z lyre is a turned to mourning,
and my z pipe to the voice of those who weep.

  1. Cross References
    Job 27:1
    And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
    Numbers 23:7
    And Balaam took up his discourse and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!
  2. Cross References
    Job 18:6
    The light is dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out.
    2 Samuel 21:17
    But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, "You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.
    Psalms 18:28
    For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 25:14
    The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
    Proverbs 3:32
    For the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.
    Job 15:8
    Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
  4. Cross References
    Job 1:2
    There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
    Psalms 128:3
    Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 49:11
    Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
  6. Cross References
    Job 20:17
    He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:13 - 14
    He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field, and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.
    Psalms 81:16
    But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
  8. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 33:24
    And of Asher he said, "Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.
  9. Cross References
    Job 5:4
    His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
  10. Cross References
    Job 21:5
    Look at me and be appalled, and lay your hand over your mouth.
  11. Cross References
    Psalms 22:15
    My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
    Psalms 137:6
    Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
    Lamentations 4:4
    The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them.
    Ezekiel 3:26
    And I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 72:12
    For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
  13. Cross References
    Job 31:20
    If his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep.
  14. Cross References
    Proverbs 31:6
    Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress.
    Isaiah 27:13
    And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
  15. Cross References
    Ruth 2:20
    And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" Naomi also said to her, "The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.
  16. Cross References
    Psalms 132:9
    Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,...
    Isaiah 59:17
    He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a...
    Isaiah 61:10
    I will greatly rejoice in the Lord ; my soul sh...
    Isaiah 11:5
    Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, a...
    Ephesians 6:14
    Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of...
    1 Thessalonians 5:8
    But since we belong to the day, let us be sober...
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 62:3
    You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
    Zechariah 3:5
    And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
    Job 19:9
    He has stripped from me my glory and taken the crown from my head.
  18. Cross References
    Numbers 10:31
    And he said, "Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us.
  19. Cross References
    Proverbs 29:7
    A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
  20. Cross References
    Psalms 3:7
    Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 58:6
    O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
    Proverbs 30:14
    There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.
  22. Cross References
    Psalms 30:6
    As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved.
  23. Cross References
    Numbers 24:21
    And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.
    Job 39:27
    Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?
  24. Cross References
    Genesis 22:17
    I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
  25. Cross References
    Job 18:16
    His roots dry up beneath, and his branches wither above.
  26. Cross References
    Psalms 1:3
    He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
  27. Cross References
    Job 14:9
    Yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.
  28. Cross References
    Genesis 49:24
    Yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel).
  29. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:31
    But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
    Isaiah 41:1
    Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.
  30. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:2
    May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.
    Deuteronomy 33:28
    So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew.
  31. Cross References
    Psalms 119:131
    I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments.
    Isaiah 5:14
    Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.
  32. Cross References
    Proverbs 16:15
    In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
    Jeremiah 3:3
    Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come; yet you have the forehead of a whore; you refuse to be ashamed.
    Zechariah 10:1
    Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.
    Deuteronomy 11:14
    He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.
  33. Cross References
    Proverbs 16:15
    In the light of a king's face there is life, and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain.
  34. Cross References
    Genesis 4:5
    But for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
  35. Cross References
    Job 15:24
    Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
  36. Cross References
    Job 12:4
    I am a laughingstock to my friends; I, who called to God and he answered me, a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
  37. Cross References
    Job 32:6
    And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you.
    Job 32:4
    Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he.
  38. Cross References
    Job 30:2 - 8
    What could I gain from the strength of their hands, men whose vigor is gone?
    Job 24:4 - 8
    They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
  39. Cross References
    Job 5:26
    You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
  40. Cross References
    Job 30:17
    The night racks my bones, and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
  41. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:6
    They did not say, 'Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?
  42. Cross References
    Job 38:27
    To satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?
    Zephaniah 1:15
    A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
  43. Cross References
    1 Samuel 26:19
    Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.
  44. Cross References
    1 Samuel 13:6
    When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.
    Jeremiah 4:29
    At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.
  45. Cross References
    Job 6:5
    Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder?
  46. Cross References
    Proverbs 24:31
    And behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
    Zephaniah 2:9
    Therefore, as I live," declares the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.
  47. Cross References
    Psalms 69:12
    I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me.
    Lamentations 3:14
    I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long.
    Lamentations 3:63
    Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.
  48. Cross References
    Job 17:6
    He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit.
  49. Cross References
    Psalms 88:8
    You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape.
    Job 17:6
    He has made me a byword of the peoples, and I am one before whom men spit.
  50. Cross References
    Numbers 12:14
    But the Lord said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.
    Isaiah 50:6
    I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
    Matthew 26:67
    Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him.
    Matthew 27:30
    And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
  51. Cross References
    Psalms 109:6
    Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
  52. Cross References
    Job 19:12
    His troops come on together; they have cast up their siege ramp against me and encamp around my tent.
  53. Cross References
    Job 6:2
    Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!
  54. Cross References
    Job 16:14
    He breaks me with breach upon breach; he runs upon me like a warrior.
  55. Cross References
    Job 18:11
    Terrors frighten him on every side, and chase him at his heels.
  56. Cross References
    Job 7:9
    As the cloud fades and vanishes, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.
    Isaiah 44:22
    I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
  57. Cross References
    1 Samuel 1:15
    But Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.
    Job 10:1
    I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
  58. Cross References
    Job 7:3
    So I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
  59. Cross References
    Job 33:19
    Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones.
  60. Cross References
    Job 30:3
    Through want and hard hunger they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation.
  61. Cross References
    1 Samuel 28:8
    So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.
    1 Kings 20:38
    So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
  62. Cross References
    Job 42:6
    Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
    Genesis 18:27
    Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
  63. Cross References
    Lamentations 4:3
    Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.
    Isaiah 63:10
    But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
  64. Cross References
    Job 16:9
    He has torn me in his wrath and hated me; he has gnashed his teeth at me; my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
  65. Cross References
    Job 27:21
    The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.
  66. Cross References
    Job 19:25
    For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
  67. Cross References
    Job 28:21
    It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air.
  68. Cross References
    Psalms 79:1
    O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
    Jeremiah 26:18
    "Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, "'Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.'
    Micah 1:6
    Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations.
    Micah 3:12
    Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.
  69. Cross References
    Psalms 35:13 - 14
    But I, when they were sick - I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
    Romans 12:15
    Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
  70. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:15
    We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
    Jeremiah 14:19
    Have you utterly rejected Judah? Does your soul loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
  71. Cross References
    Job 10:21 - 22
    Before I go - and I shall not return - to the land of darkness and deep shadow.
  72. Cross References
    2 Samuel 22:6
    The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
    Psalms 18:5
    The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
  73. Cross References
    Psalms 38:6
    I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.
    Psalms 42:9
    I say to God, my rock: "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
    Psalms 43:2
    For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
  74. Cross References
    Proverbs 26:26
    Though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.
  75. Cross References
    Micah 1:8
    For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.
  76. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:21
    But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.
    Isaiah 34:13
    Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and thistles in its fortresses. It shall be the haunt of jackals, an abode for ostriches.
    Jeremiah 50:39
    Therefore wild beasts shall dwell with hyenas in Babylon, and ostriches shall dwell in her. She shall never again have people, nor be inhabited for all generations.
    Micah 1:8
    For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches.
  77. Cross References
    Psalms 119:83
    For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
    Lamentations 4:8
    Now their face is blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as wood.
    Lamentations 5:10
    Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine.
  78. Cross References
    Psalms 102:3
    For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.
  79. Cross References
    Job 21:12
    They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
  80. Cross References
    Job 21:12
    They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
  81. Cross References
    Lamentations 5:15
    The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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