If I cry ¹  to corruption, ²  ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My Mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

but from my youth I raised the orphan ¹  like a father, and from my mother’s womb ²  I guided the widow! ³ 

I have been dependent on you since birth; ¹  from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God. ² 

Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. ¹ 

My own brothers treat me like a stranger; they act as if I were a foreigner. ¹ 

Certainly ¹  you made my mind and heart; ²  you wove me together ³  in my mother’s womb.

When I was a son to my father, ¹  a tender only child ²  before my mother,

the descendants of Shephatiah, the descendants of Hattil, the descendants of Pokereth-Hazzebaim, and the descendants of Ami.

Yes, you are the one who brought me out ¹  from the womb and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

I have leaned on you since birth; ¹  you pulled me ²  from my mother’s womb. I praise you continually. ³ 

I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house, the one who taught me. ¹  I would give you ²  spiced wine ³  to drink, ⁴  the nectar of my pomegranates. ⁵ 

Cursed be the day I was born! May that day not be blessed when my mother gave birth to me. ¹ 

For he did not kill me before I came from the womb, making my pregnant mother’s womb my grave forever. ¹ 

What’s more, ¹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife.

that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us ¹  from death.”

He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, ¹  as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

He said, “Naked ¹  I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. ²  The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. ³  May the name of the Lord ⁴  be blessed!”

Do not stare at me because ¹  I am dark, for ²  the sun has burned my skin. ³  My brothers ⁴  were angry ⁵  with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards. Alas, my own vineyard ⁶  I could not keep! ⁷ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how I wish you were ¹  my little brother, ²  nursing at my mother’s breasts; if I saw ³  you outside, I could kiss you – surely ⁴  no one would despise me! ⁵ 

Listen to me, you coastlands! ¹  Pay attention, you people who live far away! The Lord summoned me from birth; ²  he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world. ³