Job’s Former Blessings

1And Job continued his discourse:

2“How I long for the months gone by,

for the days when God watched over me,

3when His lamp shone above my head,

and by His light I walked through the darkness,

4when I was in my prime,a

when the friendship of God rested on my tent,

5when the Almighty was still with me

and my children were around me,

6when my steps were bathed in cream

and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

7When I went out to the city gate

and took my seat in the public square,

8the young men saw me and withdrew,

and the old men rose to their feet.

9The princes refrained from speaking

and covered their mouths with their hands.

10The voices of the nobles were hushed,

and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

11For those who heard me called me blessed,

and those who saw me commended me,

12because I rescued the poor who cried out

and the fatherless who had no helper.

13The dying man blessed me,

and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

14I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

justice was my robe and my turban.

15I served as eyes to the blind

and as feet to the lame.

16I was a father to the needy,

and I took up the case of the stranger.

17I shattered the fangs of the unjust

and snatched the prey from his teeth.

18So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest

and multiply my days as the sand.

19My roots will spread out to the waters,

and the dew will rest nightly on my branches.

20My glory is ever new within me,

and my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21Men listened to me with expectation,

waiting silently for my counsel.

22After my words, they spoke no more;

my speech settled on them like dew.

23They waited for me as for rain

and drank in my words like spring showers.

24If I smiled at them, they did not believe it;

the light of my countenance was precious.

25I chose their course and presided as chief.

So I dwelt as a king among his troops,

as a comforter of the mourners.