1. Job continued his discourse, saying:
2. If only I could be as in months gone by,in the days when God watched over me,
3. when His lamp shone above my head,and I walked through darkness by His light!
4. I would be as I was in the days of my youthwhen God’s friendship rested on my tent,
5. when the Almighty was still with meand my children were around me,
6. when my feet were bathed in creamand the rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7. When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the town square,
8. the young men saw me and withdrew,while older men stood to their feet.
9. City officials stopped talkingand covered their mouths with their hands.
10. The noblemen’s voices were hushed,and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.