When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him [because of his disfigurement], they raised their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe [in grief] and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky [in sorrow].

‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay,
Whose foundations are in the dust,
Who are crushed like a moth.

“For affliction does not come forth from the dust,
Nor does trouble spring forth from the ground.

“My body is clothed with worms and a crust of dust;
My skin is hardened [and broken and loathsome], and [breaks out and] runs.

“Why then do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my sin and guilt?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be.”

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

“Together they lie down in the dust,
And the worms cover them.

And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value],

“Though he heaps up silver like dust
And piles up clothing like clay,

“Its stones are the bed of sapphires;
It holds dust of gold.

“God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],
And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.

All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust.

When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together [because of the heat]?

For she leaves her eggs on the ground
And warms them in the dust,

“[Crush and] hide them in the dust together;
Shut them up in the hidden place [the house of death].

“Therefore I retract [my words and hate myself]
And I repent in dust and ashes.”