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)

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