Job 29:15
in Job 29I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.
KJV
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame.
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This verse in Job 29
Commentary
11 notes on this verseI was an eye to the blind, and a foot was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out. [HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION] Herein the mind of the reader might perchance put the question, wherefore it is that blessed Job reckons up his own virtue with so much particularity. For it is a mark of holy men to conceal the good things they may have done, lest it chance that they bring upon themselves the downfall of exaltation.
This site's exposition
put on righteousness
on Job 29:14-17
Job says “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me”, an image Gill notes Isaiah gives to salvation at Isaiah 61:10. Delitzsch reads “I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth” as a shepherd's language, justice pictured as rescue.
This site's exposition
eyes to the blind
Henry reads eyes to the blind as counsel for the perplexed. Feet to the lame were money and friends for those who knew the way yet lacked the means. Clarke pictures desert guides and camels.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
See how these miracles are worthy of the apostles. Job was not able to give sight back to them, because that charisma did not yet exist, but he provided them with light, even though they remained blind, whereas now we even make blind those who are able to see. He did not say, I employed my servants to do that, but I, he says, corrected the errors of nature, not only the errors that derived from the action of people but also those coming from nature itself.
The Medieval Church1 voice
To show how he could preserve mercy together with justice he says, "I was an eye for the blind," for I instructed simple men how to proceed in their business and not suffer detriment due to ignorance. Because not only did he give counsel to …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Darkness - I passed safely through many difficulties, and dangers, and common calamities. Seat - When I caused the seat of justice to be set for me. By this, and several other expressions, it appears that Job was a magistrate.
): I was eyes to the blind, counselling and advising those for the best that knew not what to do, and feet to the lame, assisting those with money and friends that knew what they should do, but knew not how to compass it. Those we best help whom we help out in that very thing wherein they are defective and most need help.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
I was eyes to the blind,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I was eyes to the blind - An exceedingly beautiful expression, whose meaning is obvious. He became their counsellor and guide. And feet was I to the lame - I assisted them, and became their benefactor. I did for them, in providing a support, what they would have done for themselves if they had been in sound health.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The grounds on which Job was praised (Job 29:11), his helping the afflicted (Ps 72:12) who cried to him for help, as a judge, or as one possessed of means of charity. Translate: "The fatherless who had none to help him."
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame - Alluding probably to the difficulty of travelling in the Arabian deserts. I was eyes to the blind - those who did not know the way, I furnished with guides. I was feet to the lame - those who were worn out, and incapable of walking, I set forward on my camels, etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
I put on righteousness and it clothed me I pursued righteousness and it is present with me as a coat and a turban, which are beautiful ornaments; so was my judgment beautiful and pure.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֵינַ֣יִם | ʾeinayim | eyes | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הָ֭יִיתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לַֽעִוֵּ֑ר | laiver | to the blind | H5787 → | |
| וְרַגְלַ֖יִם | veraglayim | and [was] feet | H7272 → | 247 times |
| לַפִּסֵּ֣חַ | lapiseach | to the lame | H6455 → | |
| אָֽנִי׃ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
עֵינַ֣יִםeyes
ʾeinayimH5869 →887 times
הָ֭יִיתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
לַֽעִוֵּ֑רto the blind
laiverH5787 →
וְרַגְלַ֖יִםand [was] feet
veraglayimH7272 →247 times
לַפִּסֵּ֣חַto the lame
lapiseachH6455 →
אָֽנִי׃I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 11:5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:4–6
Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
- Isaiah 61:1–3
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
- Isaiah 42:6–7
“I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a…
- Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight…
- Isaiah 29:18
On that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of the deep darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
- Isaiah 35:4–6
Through
Numbers 10:31“Please do not leave us,” Moses said, “since you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you can serve as our eyes.
it leads to
- Galatians 6:2
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 12:14–21
For the body does not consist of one part, but of many.
- Psalms 32:8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Galatians 6:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Job
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book XIX; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, COMMENTARY ON JOB 29:13-18; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Job.