1 And Job went on with his discourse and said:
2 "If only I were as in months of old, as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone above my head, and by his light I made my way through the dark,
4 as I was in my autumn days, when God's intimate counsel rested on my tent,
5 while the Almighty was yet with me, and my young ones were about me,
6 when my steps were washed in curds, and the rock beside me poured out rivers of oil!
7 When I went out to the city gate and set up my seat in the open square,
8 the young men saw me and stepped aside, and the aged got up and remained standing;
9 chiefs stopped talking and put a hand over their mouths;
10 the voices of the nobles fell silent, and their tongues clung to their palates.
11 The ear that heard me called me happy, and the eye that saw me spoke in my favor,
12 for I delivered the poor man who cried out, and the orphan with none to help him.
13 The blessing of the dying came upon me, and I made the widow's heart shout for joy.
14 I wore righteousness, and it wore me; my justice was my cloak and my turban.
15 Eyes I was to the blind, and feet to the lame.
16 To the needy I was a father, and I investigated the cause of the stranger.
17 I shattered the jaws of the wrongdoer and plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18 And I thought, 'I will die in my own nest, and like the sand I will make my days many.'
19 My root lay open to the waters, and the dew lodged all night on my branch.
20 My glory stayed fresh within me, and my bow kept renewing itself in my hand.
21 They heard me and waited expectantly, and kept quiet for my counsel.
22 When I had spoken they did not speak again; my words fell on them drop by drop.
23 They waited for me as for showers, and opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 When I smiled on them they could hardly believe it, and they did not let the light of my face fall.
25 I chose their road and sat at the head; I lived like a king among his troops, like one who consoles those who mourn.