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1 Job continued his discourse:
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2 "How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me,
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3 when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness!
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4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,
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5 when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 6 when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
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7 "When I went to the gate of the city and took my seat in the public square,
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8 the young men saw me and stepped aside and the old men rose to their feet;
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9 the chief men refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands;
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10 the voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
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11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me,
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12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.
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13 The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.
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14 I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
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15 I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
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16 I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
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17 I broke the fangs of the wicked and snatched the victims from their teeth.
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18 "I thought, 'I will die in my own house, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.
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19 My roots will reach to the water, and the dew will lie all night on my branches.
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20 My glory will remain fresh in me, the bow ever new in my hand.'
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21 "Men listened to me expectantly, waiting in silence for my counsel.
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22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more; my words fell gently on their ears.
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23 They waited for me as for showers and drank in my words as the spring rain.
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24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.
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25 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.
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