¹¹ “Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?
¹² Why were there knees to receive me
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³ For now I would be lying down in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest
¹⁴ with kings and rulers of the earth,
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
¹⁵ with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?
¹⁷ There the wicked cease from turmoil,
    and there the weary are at rest.
¹⁸ Captives also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.
¹⁹ The small and the great are there,
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,
²¹ to those who long for death that does not come,
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,
²² who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?