• Job’s Past Was Glorious

  • 1 Job again took up his discourse and said,
  • 2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by, As in the days when God watched over me;
  • 3 When His lamp shone over my head, And by His light I walked through darkness;
  • 4 Just as I was in the days of my youth, When the protection of God was over my tent;
  • 5 When the Almighty was still with me, And my children were around me;
  • 6 When my steps were bathed in cream, And the rock poured out streams of oil for me!
  • 7 “When I went out to the gate of the city, When I took my seat in the public square,
  • 8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the old men arose and stood.
  • 9 “The leaders stopped talking And put their hands on their mouths;
  • 10 The voices of the prominent people were hushed, And their tongues stuck to their palates.
  • 11 “For when an ear heard, it called me blessed, And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
  • 12 Because I saved the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper.
  • 13 “The blessing of the one who was about to perish came upon me, And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
  • 14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a headband.
  • 15 “I was eyes to those who were blind, And feet to those who could not walk.
  • 16 “I was a father to the poor, And I investigated the case which I did not know.
  • 17 “I broke the jaws of the wicked And rescued the prey from his teeth.
  • 18 “Then I thought, ‘I will die with my family, And I will multiply my days as the sand.
  • 19 ‘My root is spread out to the waters, And dew lies on my branch all night.
  • 20 ‘My glory is ever new with me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’
  • 21 “To me they listened and waited, And they kept silent for my advice.
  • 22 “After my words they did not speak again, And my speech dropped on them.
  • 23 “They waited for me as for the rain, And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
  • 24 “I smiled at them when they did not believe, And they did not look at my kindness ungraciously.
  • 25 “I chose a way for them and sat as chief, And lived as a king among the troops, As one who comforted the mourners.