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13 For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;
    had I slept, I should then have been at rest
14 With kings and counselors of the earth
    who rebuilt what were ruins
15 Or with princes who had gold
    and filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not buried away like a stillborn child,
    like babies that have never seen the light?
17 There[a] the wicked cease from troubling,
    there the weary are at rest.
18 The captives are at ease together,
    and hear no overseer’s voice.
19 Small and great are there;
    the servant is free from the master.
20 Why is light given to the toilers,
    life to the bitter in spirit?
21 They wait for death and it does not come;
    they search for it more than for hidden treasures.
22 They rejoice in it exultingly,
    and are glad when they find the grave:
23 A man whose path is hidden from him,
    one whom God has hemmed in![b]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:17 There: in death.
  2. 3:23 Hemmed in: contrast the same verb as used in 1:10.

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

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

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