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.
11. When they heard me, they blessed me,and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.
12. For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.
13. The dying man blessed me,and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
14. I clothed myself in righteousness, and it enveloped me;my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15. I was eyes to the blindand feet to the lame.
16. I was a father to the needy,and I examined the case of the stranger.
17. I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18. So I thought: I will die in my own nestand multiply my days as the sand.
19. My roots will have access to water, and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
20. My strength will be refreshed within me,and my bow will be renewed in my hand.
21. Men listened to me with expectation,waiting silently for my advice.