1Job spoke again,
2“I wish/desire that I could be like I was previously,
3During those years, it was as though God’s lamp [MET] shone on me
4At that time I was young and strong,
5Almighty God was with me during those years
6My herds provided me with plenty of milk,
7“Whenever I went to the place where the elders gathered at the city gate,
8and when the young men saw me, they stepped aside respectfully,
9The leaders of the people stopped talking [DOU],
10and even the most important men became quiet
11When they [SYN] all heard what I told them,
12because I had helped the poor people when they cried out for help
13Those who were suffering and about to die praised [PRS] me,
14I always acted justly;
15It was as though [MET] I was eyes for blind people
16I was like [MET] a father to poor people,
17My causing wicked people to be unable to continue oppressing others was like [MET] breaking the fangs of fierce wild animals
18“At that time I thought, ‘Surely I will live securely, until I am very old [SIM],
19I was like a tree [MET] whose roots reach down into the water
20People always honored me,
21“When I spoke, people waited to hear what I would say
22After I finished speaking, they did not say any more;
23They waited for me to speak like they wait for rain;
24When they were discouraged, I smiled at them to encourage them;
25I was their leader, and I decided what things would be good for them to do;