When I was a son to my father,
Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother,

“I was almost in utter ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

“I was due to offer peace offerings;
Today I have paid my vows.

“From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;

“When He established the heavens, I was there,
When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,

And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles;
Its surface was covered with nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.

So is the man who deceives his neighbor,
And says, “Was I not joking?”