² “How I long for the months gone by,^(A)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(B)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(C)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(D) blessed my house,^(E)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(F) were around me,^(G)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(H)
    and the rock^(I) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(J)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(K) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(L)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(M)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(N)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(O)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(P)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(Q)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(R)
12 because I rescued the poor^(S) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(T) who had none to assist them.^(U)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(V)
    I made the widow’s^(W) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(X) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(Y)
15 I was eyes^(Z) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(AA)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(AB)
    I took up the case^(AC) of the stranger.^(AD)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(AE) from their teeth.^(AF)