¹And Job continued his discourse: ²“How I long for the months gone by, ³when His lamp shone above my head, ⁴when I was in my prime, ⁵when the Almighty was still with me ⁶when my steps were bathed in cream ⁷When I went out to the city gate ⁸the young men saw me and withdrew, ⁹The princes refrained from speaking ¹⁰The voices of the nobles were hushed, ¹¹For those who heard me called me blessed, ¹²because I rescued the poor who cried out ¹³The dying man blessed me, ¹⁴I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; ¹⁵I served as eyes to the blind ¹⁶I was a father to the needy, ¹⁷I shattered the fangs of the unjust ¹⁸So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest ¹⁹My roots will spread out to the waters, ²⁰My glory is ever new within me, ²¹Men listened to me with expectation, ²²After my words, they spoke no more; ²³They waited for me as for rain ²⁴If I smiled at them, they did not believe it; ²⁵I chose their course and presided as chief.