‘I’ve done it by the strength of my hand,
    and by my wisdom,
        because I’m so clever.^[b]
I removed the boundaries of peoples,
    and plundered their treasures;
like a bull I brought down
    those who sat on thrones.
¹⁴ My hand has found, as if in a nest,
    the wealth of the people;
and as one gathers eggs that have been abandoned,
    so I have gathered all the inhabitants of the^[c] earth.
Nothing moved a wing,
    opened its mouth,
        or chirped.’

¹⁵ “Does the ax exalt itself
    over the one who swings it?
Or does the saw magnify itself
    in opposition to the one who wields it?
As if a rod were to wield those who lift^[d] it,
    or as if a club were to brandish the one who is not wood!