When I was a son to my father, not yet strong and an only son to my mother,

From eternity I was appointed, from the beginning, from before there was land.

Before the mountains were shaped, before there were hills, I was bringing them to birth.

when he crafted the heavens, I was there when he marked out a circle on the face of the deep,

Then I was with him, his master craftsman I was his delight daily, continuously rejoicing in his presence,

Don't remove an ancient boundary stone that was set up by your ancestors.

There it was, overgrown with thistles, the ground covered with thorns, its stone wall collapsed.

that's what someone is like who lies to his neighbor and then says, "I was joking, wasn't I?"