²⁰ Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun.

¹⁴ May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

¹¹ My days are past, my plans are broken off, As are the thoughts of my heart.

¹² They change the night into day, Saying 'The light is near' in the presence of darkness.

¹³ If I look for Sheol as my house, If I have spread my couch in the darkness,

¹⁴ If I have said to corruption, 'You are my father;' To the worm, 'My mother,' and 'my sister;'

¹⁵ Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it?

⁶ "Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn't know who shall gather.

⁷ Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

¹⁹ If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

⁸ For we don't desire to have you uninformed, brothers,{The word for "brothers" here and where context allows may also be correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."} concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life.

⁹ Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

¹⁰ who delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver; on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us;

³ that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you know that we are appointed to this task.

⁴ For most assuredly, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer affliction, even as it happened, and you know.