³ “May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^(B)

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

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(Q)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,^(R)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(S)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(T)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(U)
    whom God has hedged in?^(V)

³ I am overwhelmed with troubles^(C)
    and my life draws near to death.^(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;^(E)
    I am like one without strength.^(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off^(G) from your care.

⁶ You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.^(H)
7 Your wrath^(I) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.^[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends^(K)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined^(L) and cannot escape;^(M)