1. Job took up his theme again and said:
2. Oh, that I were as in the months past,as in the days when God watched over me:
3. While he kept his lamp shining above my head,and by his light I walked through darkness;
4. As I was in my flourishing days,when God sheltered my tent;
5. When the Almighty was still with me,and my children were round about me;
6. When my footsteps were bathed in cream,and the rock flowed with streams of oil.
7. Whenever I went out to the gate of the cityand took my seat in the square,
8. The young men saw me and withdrew,and the elders rose up and stood;
9. Officials refrained from speakingand covered their mouths with their hands;
10. The voice of the princes was silenced,and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11. The ear that heard blessed me;the eye that saw acclaimed me.
12. For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,the orphans, and the unassisted;
13. The blessing of those in extremity came upon me,and the heart of the widow I made joyful.