1 And Job continued his discourse: | TOSK |
2 “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, | TOSK |
3 when His lamp shone above my head, and by His light I walked through the darkness, | TOSK |
4 when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God rested on my tent, | TOSK |
5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, | TOSK |
6 when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! | TOSK |
7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square, | TOSK |
8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the old men rose to their feet. | TOSK |
9 The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. | TOSK |
10 The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths. | TOSK |
11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me, | TOSK |
12 because I rescued the poor who cried out and the fatherless who had no helper. | TOSK |
13 The dying man blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy. | TOSK |
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; justice was my robe and my turban. | TOSK |
15 I served as eyes to the blind and as feet to the lame. | TOSK |
16 I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger. | TOSK |
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust and snatched the prey from his teeth. | TOSK |
18 So I thought: ‘I will die in my nest and multiply my days as the sand. | TOSK |
19 My roots will spread out to the waters, and the dew will rest nightly on my branches. | TOSK |
20 My glory is ever new within me, and my bow is renewed in my hand.’ | TOSK |
21 Men listened to me with expectation, waiting silently for my counsel. | TOSK |
22 After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew. | TOSK |
23 They waited for me as for rain and drank in my words like spring showers. | TOSK |
24 If I smiled at them, they did not believe it; the light of my countenance was precious. | TOSK |
25 I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners. | TOSK |