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Job continued his discourse:
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“How I long for the months gone by, for the days God watched over me,
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when his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
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Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,
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when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me,
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when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
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“When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
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the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
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the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
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the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
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Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
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because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.
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The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.
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I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
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I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
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I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
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I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
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“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
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My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
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My glory will not fade; the bow will be ever new in my hand.’
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“People listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
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After I had spoken, they speak no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
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They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
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When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
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I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I dwelt as a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.
