1. O death! How bitter is the thought of youfor the one at peace in his home,For the one who is serene and always successful,who can still enjoy life’s pleasures.
2. O death! How welcome is your sentenceto the weak, failing in strength,Stumbling and tripping on everything,with sight gone and hope lost.
3. Do not fear death’s decree for you;remember, it embraces those before you and those to come.
4. This decree for all flesh is from God;why then should you reject a law of the Most High?Whether one has lived a thousand years, a hundred, or ten,in Sheol there are no arguments about life.
5. The children of sinners are a reprobate line,and witless offspring are in the homes of the wicked.
6. The inheritance of children of sinners will perish,and on their offspring will be perpetual disgrace.
7. Children curse their wicked father,for they suffer disgrace because of him.
8. Woe to you, O wicked people,who forsake the Law of the Most High.
9. If you have children, calamity will be theirs;and if you beget them, it will be only for groaning.When you stumble, there is lasting joy;and when you die, you become a curse.
10. All that is nought returns to nought,so too the godless—from void to void.
11. The human body is a fleeting thing,but a virtuous name will never be annihilated.