Job 29:2-30:1, Psa 42:4, 77:3, 5-9, Hos 2:7, Luk 15:17, 16:25 | ESV | STEP | Oh , that I were as in the months of old , as in the days when God watched over me,

Job 29:2-25

2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his ^alamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime, ^{▼▼Hebrew my autumn days}
when the ^cfriendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my ^dchildren were all around me,
6 when my steps were ^ewashed with ^fbutter,
and ^gthe rock poured out for me streams of ^hoil!
7 When I went out to ⁱthe gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and ^jlaid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their ^ktongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I ^ldelivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 ^mThe blessing of him who was ⁿabout to perish came upon me,
and I caused ^othe widow’s heart to sing for joy.
14 I ^pput on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and ^qa turban.
15 I was ^reyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out ^sthe cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I ^tbroke ^uthe fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 ^vThen I thought, ‘I shall die in my ^wnest,
and I shall multiply my days as ^xthe sand,
19 my ^yroots spread out to ^zthe waters,
with the dew all night on my ^aabranches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my ^abbow ever ^acnew in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word ^addropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they ^aeopened their mouths as for the ^afspring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and ^agthe light of my ^ahface they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like ^aia king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.

Job 30:1

1 “But now they ^ajlaugh at me,
men who are ^akyounger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.

Psalms 42:4

4 These things I remember,
as I ^alpour out my soul:
^amhow I would go ^anwith the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
^aoa multitude keeping festival.

Psalms 77:3

3 When I remember God, I ^apmoan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

Psalms 77:5-9

5 I consider ^aqthe days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks I said} “Let me remember my ^assong in the night;
let me ^atmeditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord ^auspurn forever,
and never again ^avbe favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his ^awpromises at an end for all time?
9 ^axHas God forgotten to be gracious?
^ayHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

Hosea 2:7

7 She shall pursue her lovers
but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
but shall not find them.
^azThen she shall say,
‘I will go and return to ^bamy first husband,
^bbfor it was better for me then than now.’

Luke 15:17

17 “But ^bcwhen he ^bdcame to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!

Luke 16:25

25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that ^beyou in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.