New English Translation
Job 29:2
2“O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,
Job 29:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;
- New International Version (NIV)“How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Oh, that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me;
Context of Job 29:2
1Then Job continued his speech: “O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me, 3when he caused his lamp to shine upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness; 4just as I was in my most productive time, when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,
Read all of Job 29Job 29:2 word by word
מִֽי־יִתְּנֵ֥נִי כְיַרְחֵי־קֶ֑דֶם כִּ֝ימֵ֗י אֱל֣וֹהַּ יִשְׁמְרֵֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Job 29:2
- Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And that man was pure and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
- Job 7:3thus I have been made to inherit months of futility, and nights of sorrow have been appointed to me.
- Job 1:10Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.
- Psalms 37:28For the Lord promotes justice, and never abandons his faithful followers. They are permanently secure, but the children of evil men are wiped out.
- Jude 1:1From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.
Commentaries on Job 29:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2O that I were as in months past - Job seems here to make an apology for his complaints, by taking a view of his former prosperity, which was very great, but was now entirely at an end. He shows that it was not removed because of any bad use he had made of it; and describes how he behaved himself before God and man, and how much, for justice, benevolence, and mercy, he was esteemed and honored by the wise and good. Preserved me - Kept, guarded, and watched…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Oh that I were - Hebrew “Who will give?” a common mode of expressing a wish; compare Job 6:8; Job 11:5; Job 13:5; Job 23:3. As in months past - O that I could recall my former prosperity, and be as was when I enjoyed the protection and favor of God. Probably one object of this wish was that his friends might see from what a state of honor and happiness he had been brought down. They complained of him as impatient. He may have designed to show them that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2In other parts of the text, Job uses the Hebrew word shamar to describe what he sees as God's severe surveillance (10:14; 13:27; 14:16). However, here it refers to God's kind care, meaning watched over (Psalm 121:3–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. preserved me--from calamity.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Job 29
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries