^1. Job continued his discourse:

^2. "How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,

^3. when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!

^4. Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,

^5. when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,

^6. when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

^7. "When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,

^8. the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;

^9. the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;

^10. the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

^11. Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,

^12. because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

^13. The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.

^14. I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.

^15. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.

^16. I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.

^17. I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.

^18. "I thought, `I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

^19. My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

^20. My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.'

^21. "Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.

^22. After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.

^23. They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.

^24. When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them. [1]

^25. I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.