“Oh that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my longing!

“Please inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

“Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“My days are past, my plans are torn apart,
Even the wishes of my heart.

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put darkness on my paths.

“In a moment they die, and at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without a hand.