² “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God ^(B)kept me,
³ When ^(C)His lamp shone over my head,
And ^(D)by His light I walked through darkness,
⁴ As I was in ^[b]the prime of my days,
When the ^(E)intimate counsel with God was over my tent,
⁵ When ^[c]the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me,
⁶ When my steps were bathed in ^(F)butter,
And the ^(G)rock poured out for me streams of oil!
⁷ When I went out to ^(H)the gate of the city,
When I ^[d]took my seat in the square,
⁸ The young men saw me and hid,
And the old men arose and stood.
⁹ The princes ^(I)stopped talking
And ^(J)put their hands on their mouths;
¹⁰ The voice of the nobles was ^(K)hidden away,
And their ^(L)tongue clung to their palate.
¹¹ For ^(M)the ear heard, and it called me blessed,
And the eye saw, and it gave witness of me,
¹² Because I provided escape for ^(N)the afflicted who cried for help,
And the ^(O)orphan who had no helper.
¹³ The blessing of the one ^(P)ready to perish came upon me,
And I made the ^(Q)widow’s heart sing for joy.
¹⁴ I ^(R)clothed myself with righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban.
¹⁵ I was ^(S)eyes to the blind
And feet to the lame.
¹⁶ I was a father to ^(T)the needy,
And I searched out the case which I did not know.
¹⁷ I ^(U)broke the fangs of the unjust
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
¹⁸ Then I ^[e]said, ‘I will breathe my last ^[f]in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
¹⁹ My ^(V)root is spread out to the waters,
And ^(W)dew lies all night on my branch.
²⁰ My glory is ever new with me,
And my ^(X)bow is renewed in my hand.’