Job 29:16 - Forerunner Commentary

Job 29:16

14 ^aI put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15 I was ^aeyes to the blind,
And I was feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the poor,
And ^aI searched out the case that I did not know.

17 I broke ^athe fangs of the wicked,
And plucked the victim from his teeth.

18 “Then I said, ^a‘I shall die in my nest,
And multiply my days as the sand.

19 ^aMy root is spread out ^bto the waters,
And the dew lies all night on my branch.

20 My glory is fresh within me,
And my ^abow is renewed in my hand.’

Verse Comparison: Job 29:16

American Standard Version
I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.

Amplified® Bible
I was a father to the poor {and} needy; the cause of him I did not know I searched out.

Contemporary English Version
I was a father to the needy, and I defended them in court, even if they were strangers.

Darby English Version
I was a father to the needy, and the cause which I knew not I searched out;

Good News Bible
I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble.

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

New American Standard Bible
"I was a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

New International Version
I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.

New King James Version
I was a father to the poor,
And I searched out the case that I did not know.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
"I served as a father to the needy, And I investigated the case which I did not know.

Revised Standard Version
I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.

Young's Literal Translation
A father I `am' to the needy, And the cause I have not known I search out.

New English Translation
I was a father¹ to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;