¹¹ “^(A)Why did I not die ^[a]at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?
¹² “Why did the knees receive me,
And why the breasts, that I should suck?
¹³ “For now I ^(B)would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,
¹⁴ With ^(C)kings and with ^(D)counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt ^(E)ruins for themselves;
¹⁵ Or with ^(F)princes ^(G)who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.
¹⁶ “Or like a miscarriage which is ^[b]discarded, I would not be,
As infants that never saw light.
¹⁷ “There the wicked cease from raging,
And there the ^[c]weary are at ^(H)rest.
¹⁸ “The prisoners are at ease together;
They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
¹⁹ “The small and the great are there,
And the slave is free from his master.

²⁰ “Why is ^(I)light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,
²¹ Who ^[d](J)long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for ^(K)hidden treasures,
²² Who rejoice greatly,
And exult when they find the grave?
²³ “Why is light given to a man ^(L)whose way is hidden,
And whom ^(M)God has hedged in?
²⁴ “For ^(N)my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And ^(O)my cries pour out like water.
²⁵ “For ^[e](P)what I fear comes upon me,
And what I dread befalls me.
²⁶ “I ^(Q)am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”