Job 29:4

just as I was in my most productive time, ¹  when God’s intimate friendship ²  was experienced in my tent,

Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

As I was in the prime of my days, When the friendship of God was over my tent;

In my early years, the friendship of God was felt in my home.

Oh, how I miss those golden years when God's friendship graced my home,

As I was in my flowering years, when my tent was covered by the hand of God;

when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent;

Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent;

just as I was in my most productive time, ¹  when God’s intimate friendship ²  was experienced in my tent,

¹ tn Heb “in the days of my ripeness.” The word חֹרֶף (khoref) denotes the time when the harvest is gathered in because the fruit is ripe. Since this is the autumn, many translate that way here – but “autumn” has a different connotation now. The text is pointing to a time when the righteous reaps what he has sown, and can enjoy the benefits. The translation “most productive time” seems to capture the point better than “autumn” or even “prime.”

² tc The word סוֹד (sod) in this verse is an infinitive construct, prefixed with the temporal preposition and followed by a subjective genitive. It forms a temporal clause. There is some disagreement about the form and its meaning. The confusion in the versions shows that they were paraphrasing to get the general sense. In the Bible the derived noun (from יָסַד, yasad) means (a) a circle of close friends; (b) intimacy. Others follow the LXX and the Syriac with a meaning of “protect,” based on a change from ד (dalet) to כּ (kaf), and assuming the root was סָכַךְ (sakhakh). This would mean, “when God protected my tent” (cf. NAB). D. W. Thomas tries to justify this meaning without changing the text (“The Interpretation of BSOÝD in Job 29:4,” JBL 65 [1946]: 63-66).