1 “‘O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish, the troubled spirit, cries to you. 2 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy because you are merciful, and have pity upon us because we have sinned before you. 3 For you endure for ever and we perish utterly. 4 O Lord Almighty, you God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites and their children, who have sinned before you and not heeded the voice of you, their God, and as a result these plagues cling to us. 5 Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers, but think upon your power and your name now at this time. 6 For you are the Lord our God, and you, O Lord, will we praise. 7 And for this reason you have put your fear into our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon your name and praise you in our captivity, for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers who sinned before you. 8 Behold, we are still this day in our captivity, where you have scattered us as a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers who departed from the Lord our God.

9 “‘Hear, Israel, the commandments of life; listen, to understand wisdom. 10 How has it happened, Israel, that you are in your enemies’ land, that you have grown old in a strange country, that you are defiled with the dead, 11 that you are counted with those who go down into the grave? 12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. 13 For if you had walked in the way of God, you would have dwelled in peace for ever. 14 Learn, where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding, so that you may know also where is length of days and life, where is the light of the eyes and peace. 15 Who has found out her place? Or who has come into her treasures? 16 What has become of the princes of the heathen and such as ruled the beasts upon the earth, 17 those who had their pastime with the fowls of the air and those who hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and made no end of their acquiring? 18 For those who wrought in silver, and who were so careful, and whose works are unsearchable, 19 they have vanished and gone down to the grave, and others have come up in their places. 20 Young men have seen light and dwelt upon the earth, but the way of knowledge they have not known, 21 nor understood the paths of it, nor laid hold of it; their children were far off from that way. 22 It has not been heard of in Canaan, neither has it been seen in Teman. 23 The Hagarenes, who seek wisdom on the earth, the merchants of Meran and Teman, the authors of fables and seekers of understanding; none of these have known the way of wisdom or remembered her paths. 24 O Israel, how great is God’s house? And how large is the place of his possession? 25 It is great and has no end! It is high and immeasurable! 26 There were the giants, famous from the beginning, who were of such great stature and of such expertise in war. 27 The Lord didn’t choose these, neither did he give them the way of knowledge, 28 but they were destroyed because they had no wisdom, and they perished through their own foolishness. 29 Who has gone up into heaven, and obtained her, and brought her down from the clouds? 30 Who has gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for pure gold? 31 No man knows her way, nor understands her path. 32 But he who knows all things knows her and has found her with his understanding: he who prepared the earth forever more, who has filled it with four-footed beasts, 33 he who sends forth light and it goes, who calls it again and it obeys him with fear. 34 The stars shine in their watches and rejoice. When he calls them, they say, “Here we are!” And so with cheerfulness they show light to him who made them. 35 This is our God, and no other shall stand in comparison with him. 36 He has founded all the way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant and Israel his beloved. 37 Afterward, he revealed himself upon the earth, and conversed with men.