Job’s Summary Defense
And Job again atook up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his alamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,
when the afriendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my achildren were all around me,
6 when my steps were awashed with bbutter,
and cthe rock poured out for me streams of doil!
7 When I went out to athe gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and alaid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their atongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I adelivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 aThe blessing of him who was babout to perish came upon me,
and I caused cthe widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I aput on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and ba turban.
15 I was aeyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out athe cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I abroke bthe fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 aThen I thought, ‘I shall die in my bnest,
and I shall multiply my days as cthe sand,
19 my aroots spread out to bthe waters,
with the dew all night on my cbranches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my abow ever bnew in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word adropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they aopened their mouths as for the bspring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and athe light of my bface they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like aa king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.