1. Job continued his poems and said,
2. “If only my life could be like it used to be,in the days when God watched over me,
3. when he made his lamp shine on my head,when I walked through the dark in his light.
4. If only I were in the prime of my life ⌊again⌋,when God was an adviser in my tent.
5. When the Almighty was still with meand my children were around me,
6. my steps were bathed in buttermilk,and the rocks poured streams of olive oil on me.
7. When I went through the city gateand took my seat in the town square,
8. young men saw me and kept out of sight.Old men stood up straight out of respect ⌊for me⌋.
9. Princes held back ⌊their⌋ wordsand put their hands over their mouths.
10. The voices of nobles were hushed,and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11. “⌊Any⌋ ears that heard me blessed me.⌊Any⌋ eyes that saw me spoke well of me,
12. because I rescued the poor who called ⌊for help⌋and the orphans who had no one to help them.