Job 29:1-13

Job continued to speak: “How I wish for the months that have passed and the days when God watched over me. God’s lamp shined on my head, and I walked through darkness by his light. I wish for the days when I was strong, when God’s close friendship blessed my house. The Almighty was still with me, and my children were all around me. It was as if my path were covered with cream and the rocks poured out olive oil for me. I would go to the city gate and sit in the public square. When the young men saw me, they would step aside, and the old men would stand up in respect. The leading men stopped speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. The voices of the important men were quiet, as if their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. Anyone who heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me praised me, because I saved the poor who called out and the orphan who had no one to help. The dying person blessed me, and I made the widow’s heart sing.