⁴ Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
    not to awaken love until the time is right.^[b]

¹¹ Solomon has a vineyard at Baal-hamon,
    which he leases out to tenant farmers.
Each of them pays a thousand pieces of silver
    for harvesting its fruit.
¹² But my vineyard is mine to give,
    and Solomon need not pay a thousand pieces of silver.
But I will give two hundred pieces
    to those who care for its vines.

⁵ “Fools fold their idle hands,
    leading them to ruin.”

“Better to have one handful with quietness
    than two handfuls with hard work
    and chasing the wind.”

² “Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
³ Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
⁵ Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
⁶ What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
⁷ as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels^[a] shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
⁹ and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
¹⁰ For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
¹¹ I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

¹² “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
¹³ Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
¹⁴ As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.^[b]
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

¹⁶ “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
¹⁷ Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
¹⁸ Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

¹⁹ “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
²⁰ Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
²¹ But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

²² “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail?
²³ (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war.)
²⁴ Where is the path to the source of light?
    Where is the home of the east wind?

²⁵ “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
    Who laid out the path for the lightning?
²⁶ Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
    in a desert where no one lives?
²⁷ Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
    and make the tender grass spring up?

²⁸ “Does the rain have a father?
    Who gives birth to the dew?
²⁹ Who is the mother of the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
³⁰ For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
    and the surface of the water freezes.

³¹ “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
    binding the cluster of the Pleiades
    or loosening the cords of Orion?
³² Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
    or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
³³ Do you know the laws of the universe?
    Can you use them to regulate the earth?

³⁴ “Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
³⁵ Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
³⁶ Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
³⁸ when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?

³⁹ “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
    and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
⁴⁰ as they lie in their dens
    or crouch in the thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the ravens
    when their young cry out to God
    and wander about in hunger?

Wail, you trading ships of Tarshish,
    for the harbor and houses of Tyre are gone!
The rumors you heard in Cyprus^[a]
    are all true.
² Mourn in silence, you people of the coast
    and you merchants of Sidon.
Your traders crossed the sea,^[b]
3     sailing over deep waters.
They brought you grain from Egypt^[c]
    and harvests from along the Nile.
You were the marketplace of the world.

⁴ But now you are put to shame, city of Sidon,
    for Tyre, the fortress of the sea, says,^[d]
“Now I am childless;
    I have no sons or daughters.”
⁵ When Egypt hears the news about Tyre,
    there will be great sorrow.
⁶ Send word now to Tarshish!
    Wail, you people who live in distant lands!
⁷ Is this silent ruin all that is left of your once joyous city?
    What a long history was yours!
    Think of all the colonists you sent to distant places.

⁸ Who has brought this disaster on Tyre,
    that great creator of kingdoms?
Her traders were all princes,
    her merchants were nobles.
⁹ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has done it
    to destroy your pride
    and bring low all earth’s nobility.
¹⁰ Come, people of Tarshish,
    sweep over the land like the flooding Nile,
    for Tyre is defenseless.^[e]
11 The Lord held out his hand over the sea
    and shook the kingdoms of the earth.
He has spoken out against Phoenicia,^[f]
    ordering that her fortresses be destroyed.
¹² He says, “Never again will you rejoice,
    O daughter of Sidon, for you have been crushed.
Even if you flee to Cyprus,
    you will find no rest.”

¹³ Look at the land of Babylonia^[g]—
    the people of that land are gone!
The Assyrians have handed Babylon over
    to the wild animals of the desert.
They have built siege ramps against its walls,
    torn down its palaces,
    and turned it to a heap of rubble.

¹⁴ Wail, you ships of Tarshish,
    for your harbor is destroyed!

¹⁶ Take a harp and walk the streets,
    you forgotten harlot.
Make sweet melody and sing your songs
    so you will be remembered again.

³ With joy you will drink deeply
    from the fountain of salvation!
⁴ In that wonderful day you will sing:
    “Thank the Lord! Praise his name!
Tell the nations what he has done.
    Let them know how mighty he is!
⁵ Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.
    Make known his praise around the world.
⁶ Let all the people of Jerusalem^[a] shout his praise with joy!
    For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”