¹⁰ “But when people die, their strength is gone.
    They breathe their last, and then where are they?

²⁶ And after my body has decayed,
    yet in my body I will see God!^[a]

¹² people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
    Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
    nor be roused from their sleep.

³² The wicked are crushed by disaster,
    but the godly have a refuge when they die.

¹³ What if I go to the grave^[a]
    and make my bed in darkness?
¹⁴ What if I call the grave my father,
    and the maggot my mother or my sister?
¹⁵ Where then is my hope?
    Can anyone find it?
¹⁶ No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
    We will rest together in the dust!”

²⁰ But the wicked will be blinded.
    They will have no escape.
    Their only hope is death.”

¹⁸ “‘Why, then, did you deliver me from my mother’s womb?
    Why didn’t you let me die at birth?