2  “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,

as in the days when God watched over me,

3  when ^ehis lamp shone upon my head,

and by his light I walked through darkness,

4  as I was in my prime,¹

when the ^ffriendship of God was upon my tent,

5  when the Almighty was yet with me,

when my ^gchildren were all around me,

6  when my steps were washed with ^hbutter,

and the rock poured out for me ⁱstreams of oil!

7  When I went out to the 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  ^lbecause I delivered the poor who cried for help,

and the ^mfatherless who had none to help him.