16. I was a father to the poor,And I searched out the case that I did not know.
17. I broke the fangs of the wicked,And plucked the victim from his teeth.
18. “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest,And multiply my days as the sand.
19. My root is spread out to the waters,And the dew lies all night on my branch.
20. My glory is fresh within me,And my bow is renewed in my hand.’
21. “Men listened to me and waited,And kept silence for my counsel.
22. After my words they did not speak again,And my speech settled on them as dew.
23. They waited for me as for the rain,And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
24. If I mocked at them, they did not believe it,And the light of my countenance they did not cast down.