1: Job now resumed his response:
2: "Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me.
3: He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the dark by its light.
4: Oh, how I miss those golden years when God's friendship graced my home,
5: When the Mighty One was still by my side and my children were all around me,
6: When everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult.
7: "When I walked downtown and sat with my friends in the public square,
8: Young and old greeted me with respect; I was honored by everyone in town.
9: When I spoke, everyone listened;
10: they hung on my every word.
11: People who knew me spoke well of me; my reputation went ahead of me.
12: I was known for helping people in trouble and standing up for those who were down on their luck.
13: The dying blessed me, and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.
14: All my dealings with people were good. I was known for being fair to everyone I met.
15: I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame,
16: Father to the needy, and champion of abused aliens.
17: I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck and made them give back what they'd stolen.
18: I thought, "I'll die peacefully in my own bed, grateful for a long and full life,
19: A life deep-rooted and well-watered, a life limber and dew-fresh,
20: My soul suffused with glory and my body robust until the day I die.'
21: "Men and women listened when I spoke, hung expectantly on my every word.
22: After I spoke, they'd be quiet, taking it all in.
23: They welcomed my counsel like spring rain, drinking it all in.
24: When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it; their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!
25: I was their leader, establishing the mood and setting the pace by which they lived. Where I led, they followed.