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Job's Past Was Glorious

¹ And Job again took up his ^(C1)discussion and said,

² "Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God ^(C1)watched over me, ^(VR1)

³ When ^(C1)His lamp shone upon my head
And ^(C2)by His light I walked through darkness;

⁴ As I was in the prime of my days,
When the ^(C1)friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,

⁵ When ^(F1)the Almighty was still with me
And my boys were around me,

⁶ When my steps through rich pastures were washed with ^(C1)butter and cream from my livestock,
And the ^(C2)rock poured out for me streams of oil from my olive groves.

⁷ "When I went out to ^(C1)the gate of the city,
When I took my seat as a city father in the square,

⁸ The young men saw me and hid themselves,
The aged arose and stood respectfully;

⁹ The princes ^(C1)stopped talking
And ^(C2)put their hands on their mouths;

¹⁰ The voices of the nobles were ^(C1)hushed,
And their ^(C2)tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

¹¹ "For when ^(C1)an ear heard my name mentioned, it called me happy and fortunate;
And when an eye saw me, it testified for me approvingly,

¹² Because I rescued ^(C1)the poor who cried for help,
And the ^(C2)orphan who had no helper.

¹³ "The blessing of him who was ^(C1)about to perish came upon me,
And I made the ^(C2)widow's heart sing for joy.

¹⁴ "I ^(C1)put on ^(F1)righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban!

¹⁵ "I was ^(C1)eyes to the blind
And I was feet to the lame.

¹⁶ "I was a father to ^(C1)the needy;
I investigated the case I did not know and assured justice.

¹⁷ "And I ^(C1)smashed the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹⁸ "Then I said, 'I shall die in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

¹⁹ 'My ^(C1)root is spread out and open to the waters,
And the ^(C2)dew lies all night upon my branch.

²⁰ 'My glory and honor are fresh in me being constantly renewed,
And my ^(C1)bow gains ever new strength in my hand.'

²¹ "They ^(C1)listened to me and waited
And kept silent for my counsel.

²² "After I spoke, they did not ^(C1)speak again,
And ^(C2)my speech dropped upon them like a refreshing shower.

²³ "They waited for me and for my words as for the rain,
And they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.

²⁴ "I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not diminish the light of my face.

²⁵ "I chose a way for them and sat as ^(C1)chief,
And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,
As one who ^(C2)comforts mourners.