| | 1 | Job further continued his discourse, and said: | |
| | 2 | Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me; | |
| | 3 | When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness; | |
| | 4 | Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; | |
| | 5 | When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me; | |
| | 6 | When my steps were bathed with cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! | |
| | 7 | "When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square, | |
| | 8 | The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood; | |
| | 9 | The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth; | |
| | 10 | The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. | |
| | 11 | When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me; | |
| | 12 | Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. | |
| | 13 | The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. | |
| | 14 | I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. | |
| | 15 | I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. | |
| | 16 | I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. | |
| | 17 | I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth. | |
| | 18 | "Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand. | |
| | 19 | My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch. | |
| | 20 | My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.' | |
| | 21 | "Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel. | |
| | 22 | After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew. | |
| | 23 | They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. | |
| | 24 | If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. | |
| | 25 | I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners. | |
