Job 29:1  Job now resumed his response:

Job 29:2  "Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me.

Job 29:3  He always held a lamp before me and I walked through the dark by its light.

Job 29:4  Oh, how I miss those golden years when God's friendship graced my home,

Job 29:5  When the Mighty One was still by my side and my children were all around me,

Job 29:6  When everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult.

Job 29:7  "When I walked downtown and sat with my friends in the public square,

Job 29:8  Young and old greeted me with respect; I was honored by everyone in town.

Job 29:9  When I spoke, everyone listened;

Job 29:10  they hung on my every word.

Job 29:11  People who knew me spoke well of me; my reputation went ahead of me.

Job 29:12  I was known for helping people in trouble and standing up for those who were down on their luck.

Job 29:13  The dying blessed me, and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.

Job 29:14  All my dealings with people were good. I was known for being fair to everyone I met.

Job 29:15  I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame,

Job 29:16  Father to the needy, and champion of abused aliens.

Job 29:17  I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck and made them give back what they'd stolen.

Job 29:18  I thought, 'I'll die peacefully in my own bed, grateful for a long and full life,

Job 29:19  A life deep-rooted and well-watered, a life limber and dew-fresh,

Job 29:20  My soul suffused with glory and my body robust until the day I die.'

Job 29:21  "Men and women listened when I spoke, hung expectantly on my every word.

Job 29:22  After I spoke, they'd be quiet, taking it all in.

Job 29:23  They welcomed my counsel like spring rain, drinking it all in.

Job 29:24  When I smiled at them, they could hardly believe it; their faces lit up, their troubles took wing!

Job 29:25  I was their leader, establishing the mood and setting the pace by which they lived. Where I led, they followed.