before he made the earth and its fields, ¹  or the beginning ²  of the dust of the world.

From eternity I was appointed, ¹  from the beginning, from before the world existed. ² 

Whoever brings a fool ¹  into the world ²  does so ³  to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy. ⁴ 

rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, ¹  and delighting ²  in its people. ³ 

“Many ¹  daughters ²  have done valiantly, ³  but you surpass them all!”

But they do not realize ¹  that the dead ²  are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave. ³ 

A person who has friends ¹  may be harmed by them, ²  but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? ¹  Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? ²  Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? ³  Who has established all the ends of the earth? ⁴  What is his name, and what is his son’s name? ⁵  – if you know!