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Job Continues His Discourse

¹ And Job continued to lift up his ^(F1)(C1)discourse and said,

² "Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God ^(C1)kept me,

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

⁴ As I was in ^(F1)the prime of my days,
When the ^(C1)intimate counsel with God was over my tent,

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

⁶ When my steps were bathed in ^(C1)butter,
And the ^(C2)rock poured out for me streams of oil!

⁷ "When I went out to ^(C1)the gate of the city,
When I ^(F1)took my seat in the square,

⁸ The young men saw me and hid,
And the old men arose and stood.

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

¹⁰ The voice of the nobles was ^(C1)hidden away,
And their ^(C2)tongue clung to their palate.

¹¹ "For ^(C1)the ear heard, and it called me blessed,
And the eye saw, and it gave witness of me,

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

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

¹⁴ "I ^(C1)clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.

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

¹⁶ "I was a father to ^(C1)the needy,
And I searched out the case which I did not know.

¹⁷ "I ^(C1)broke the fangs of the unjust
And snatched the prey from his teeth.

¹⁸ "Then I ^(F1)said, 'I will breathe my last ^(F2)in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

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

²⁰ 'My glory is ever new with me,
And my ^(C1)bow is renewed in my hand.'

²¹ "To me ^(C1)they listened and waited,
And kept silent for my counsel.

²² "After my words they did not ^(C1)speak again,
And ^(C2)my speech dropped on them.

²³ "They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouth as for the ^(F1)late rain.

²⁴ "I laughed with them as they could not believe it,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.

²⁵ "I chose a way for them and sat as ^(C1)chief,
And dwelt as their head among the troops,
As one who ^(C2)comforted the mourners.