The big picture
Job 29 opens in verse 1 with “Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,”, reaches its middle movement near verse 13 with “The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s…”, and closes in verse 25 with “I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that…” Repeated or prominent terms include days, mouth, gave, hand, light. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Job · King James Version · 25Job 29:1-7
1–7: Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,
Job 29:1–7 opens with “Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,” and reaches “When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 29 develops its own movement around days, mouth, gave, hand, light, with particular weight carried by days, Almighty, butter.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,” Naming Job and Moreover keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Job 29:1-7
King James Version1Moreover 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!
Job 29:8-14
8–14: The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood…
Job 29:8–14 opens with “The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.” and reaches “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 29 develops its own movement around days, mouth, gave, hand, light, with particular weight carried by mouth, aged, arose.
Context that brings the passage to life
“The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.” The line’s distinctive content terms include aged, arose, stood. Its relationship to verses 9 shows what work it does in this passage.
Job 29:8-14
King James Version8The 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.
Job 29:15-21
15–21: I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
Job 29:15–21 opens with “I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.” and reaches “Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 29 develops its own movement around days, mouth, gave, hand, light, with particular weight carried by blind, brake, branch.
Context that brings the passage to life
“I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.” The line’s distinctive content terms include blind, eyes, feet. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
Job 29:15-21
King James Version15I 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.
Job 29:22-25
22–25: After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.
Job 29:22–25 opens with “After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them.” and reaches “I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 29 develops its own movement around days, mouth, gave, hand, light, with particular weight carried by rain, army, believed.
Job 29:22-25
King James Version22After 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Job 29:1 begins with “Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,”
Where the chapter turns
Job 29:18 forms a natural hinge: “Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.”
The final note
Job 29:25 leaves the reader with “I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforteth the mourners.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words days, mouth, gave, hand, light, poor help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
How does Laban's deception echo Jacob's earlier conduct?
An older and younger sibling are exchanged through a disguised identity, with family custom used to justify the outcome.
What changes when the narrator follows Leah?
Readers hear the pain of the less-loved woman and God's attention to her.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- spake
- spoke
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.