Read the Bible

² "How I long for the months gone by,
for the days when God watched over me,

³ when his lamp shone upon my head
and by his light I walked through darkness!

⁴ Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,

⁵ when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,

⁶ when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

⁷ "When I went to the gate of the city
and took my seat in the public square,

⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside
and the old men rose to their feet;

⁹ the chief men refrained from speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands;

¹⁰ the voices of the nobles were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

¹¹ Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,

¹² because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

¹³ The man who was dying blessed me;
I made the widow's heart sing.

¹⁴ I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.

¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.

¹⁶ I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.

¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth.

¹⁸ "I thought, 'I will die in my own house,
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

¹⁹ My roots will reach to the water,
and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

²⁰ My glory will remain fresh in me,
the bow ever new in my hand.'

²¹ "Men listened to me expectantly,
waiting in silence for my counsel.

²² After I had spoken, they spoke no more;
my words fell gently on their ears.

²³ They waited for me as for showers
and drank in my words as the spring rain.

²⁴ When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
the light of my face was precious to them.

²⁵ I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;
I dwelt as a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.