3 ⁹ Hear, O Yisrael,
commandments of life;
give ear to learn insight.
¹⁰ Why is it, O Yisrael,
why is it that you are in the enemies’ land,
that you became old in a foreign land;
¹¹ you were defiled with corpses,
you were counted among those in Sheol?^[1] lit. Hades 
¹² You have forsaken the spring of wisdom.
¹³ If in the way of YHVH you had gone,
you would be living in peace forever.
¹⁴ Learn where there is insight,
where there is strength,
where there is intelligence,
to know at the same time
where there is longevity and life,
where there is light for eyes and peace.

¹⁵ Who has found her place,
and who entered into her treasuries?
¹⁶ Where are the magistrates of the nations
and those who have dominion over the animals that are on the earth,
¹⁷ those who make sport among the birds of the sky
and who store up silver and gold,
in which humans have trusted,
and there is no end to their acquisition,
¹⁸ those who scheme for silver and are anxious,
and there is no trace of their works?
¹⁹ They have vanished and gone down to Sheol,^[2] lit. Hades 
and others have arisen in their place.

²⁰ Younger ones saw light,
and they lived upon the earth,
but they did not know the way of knowledge
²¹ nor understood her paths,
nor did they take hold of her.
Their sons ended up far away from their way.
²² She has neither been heard of in Kna’an
nor been seen in Teiman^[3] Yemen —
²³ nor the sons of Hagar who seek out intelligence upon the earth,
the merchants of Merran^[4] Unknown. One suggestion is that the original text in Hebrew or Aramaic had ‘Midian,’ and that this is evidence of a scribal corruption preceding the work’s translation into Greek.  and Teiman
and the story-tellers and the seekers for intelligence.
But they did not know the way of wisdom nor remembered her paths.

²⁴ Ah Yisrael, how great is the house of YHVH,
and how extensive is the place of its^[5] probably, ‘his'  estate!
²⁵ It is great and has no end;
it is high and immeasurable.
²⁶ The giants were born there, those renowned, those of old,
seeing that they were large, experts in war.
²⁷ Not these did YHVH choose,
nor did he give them the way of knowledge,
²⁸ and they perished because they had no insight;
they perished through their recklessness.

²⁹ Who has gone up into the sky and taken her
and brought her down from the clouds?
³⁰ Who has crossed over the sea and found her
and will bring her in exchange for choice gold?
³¹ There is no one who is familiar with her way,
nor one who thinks much about her path.
³² But he who knows all things is familiar with her;
he discovered her by his intelligence;
he who equipped the earth for all time,
he filled it with quadrupeds.
³³ He who sends the light, and it goes—
he summoned it and it obeyed him, with a shudder,
³⁴ but the stars shone in their watches and were glad;
³⁵ he called them, and they said, “We are present!”
They shone with gladness for him who made them.
³⁶ This is our elo’ah;
no other will be reckoned with him.
³⁷ He discovered the whole way of knowledge
and gave her to his servant Yaaqov
and to Yisrael who was loved by him.
³⁸ After this she appeared on earth
and associated among humans.

4 ¹ She^[6] i.e., way of knowledge.  is the book of the decrees of YHVH
and the Torah that remains forever.
All who seize her are for life,
but those who forsake her will die.
² Turn, O Yaaqov, and take hold of her;
pass through toward the shining in the presence of her light.
³ Do not give your glory to another
and your benefits to a foreign nation.
⁴ Happy are we, O Yisrael,
because what is pleasing to YHVH is known to us.

⁵ Take courage, my people, reminder of Yisrael!
⁶ You were sold to the nations not for destruction,
but because you angered YHVH
you were delivered to your adversaries.
⁷ For you provoked the one who made you
by sacrificing to demons and not to YHVH.
⁸ And you forgot the one who nursed you, El everlasting,
and you even grieved Jerusalem who reared you.
⁹ For she saw the anger that came upon you from YHVH,
and she said:
Listen, you neighbors of Tsiyon,
YHVH has brought great mourning upon me;
¹⁰ for they saw the captivity of my sons and daughters,
which the Everlasting brought upon them.
¹¹ For I reared them with gladness,
but I sent them away with weeping and grief.
¹² Let no one rejoice against me, the widow
and one forsaken by many;
I was left desolate because of the sins of my children,
because they turned away from YHVH’s Torah
¹³ And they did not recognize his statutes;
neither did they walk in the ways of YHVH’s commandments
nor tread on the paths of instruction by his righteousness.
¹⁴ Let the neighbors of Tsiyon come,
And remember the captivity of my sons and daughters,
which the Everlasting brought upon them.
¹⁵ For he brought against them a far off nation,
a shameless nation and one speaking an alien tongue,
who did not respect an old man nor showed mercy to a child.
¹⁶ And they led away the beloved sons of the widow
and isolated the lonely woman from her daughters.

¹⁷ But I,^[7] i.e., Jerusalem.  how am I able to help you?
¹⁸ For he who brought these bad things upon you
will deliver you from the hand of your enemies.
¹⁹ Walk, children, walk,
for I have been left desolate.
²⁰ I have taken off the robe of peace
and put on sackcloth for my petition;
I will cry out to the Everlasting in all my days.

²¹ Take courage, O children; call out to YHVH,
and he will deliver you from domination, from the hand of enemies.
²² For I have hoped in the Everlasting for your salvation,
and joy has come to me from the Holy One
because of the mercy that will soon come to you
from your everlasting savior.
²³ For I dispatched out with mourning and weeping,
but YHVH will give you back to me with delight and merriment forever.
²⁴ For as the neighbors of Tsiyon have seen your captivity now,
so they will quickly see your salvation from YHVH,
which will come to you with the great glory
and splendor of the Everlasting.
²⁵ O children, bear patiendy the wrath that has come upon you from YHVH.
The enemy has pursued you,
but you will quickly see their destruction
and will tread upon their necks.
²⁶ My pampered children have traveled rough roads;
they were taken away like a flock carried off by enemies.

²⁷ Take courage, O children, and call out to YHVH,
for there will be mention of you by the one who brought this.
²⁸ For just as your intention became to go astray from YHVH,
multiply by ten when you return to seek him.
²⁹ For the one who brought these bad things upon you
will bring you everlasting merriment with your salvation.

³⁰ Take courage, O Jerusalem;
he who named you will comfort you.
³¹ Wretched will be those who have harmed you
and who have rejoiced at your fall.
³² Wretched will be the cities that your children served as slaves;
wretched will be the one^[8] i.e. Babylon  that received your sons.
³³ For just as she rejoiced at your fall
and was glad for your ruin,
so she will be grieved at her own desolation.
³⁴ And I will take away her rejoicing of her great population,
and her insolence will be turned to mourning.
³⁵ For fire will come upon her from the Everlasting for long days,
and for a rather long time she will be inhabited by demons.

³⁶ Look around toward the East, O Jerusalem,
and see the merriment that is coming to you from YHVH.
³⁷ Behold, your sons are coming, whom you sent away;
they are coming, gathered from east until west,
at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of YHVH.

5 ¹ Take off your robe of mourning and affliction, O Jerusalem,
and put on the dignity of the glory from YHVH forever.
² Put on the double-cloth^[9] or double-cloak, a style of garment. Perhaps this is a reference to the dress of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). I am put in mind of the material of the efod, the priestly vestment made of linen but with dyed wool thread (the textile then capable of being dyed), a combination forbidden in any other vestment.  of the righteousness that is from YHVH;
put on your head the headband^[10] Find note above. If correct, and this is a reference to the attire of the high priest, then this would be a reference to the tsits. It is very tempting to think of this headband as a reference to tefillin (the totafot of Deuteronomy 6:8).  of the glory of the Everlasting.
³ For YHVH will show your splendor in the all that is beneath heaven.
⁴ For your name will be called by YHVH forever,
“Peace of righteousness and glory of piety.”

⁵ Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand upon the height,
and look around toward the East,
and see your children gathered from the setting of the sun until its rising
at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing at YHVH’s remembering.
⁶ For they went out from you on foot,
led away by enemies,
but YHVH will bring them to you,
taken up with glory, as on a royal throne.
⁷ For YHVH has instructed that every high mountain
and the everlasting mounds be made low
and the valleys be filled to make level the ground
so that Yisrael may walk safely by the glory of YHVH.
⁸ And even the woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Yisrael at YHVH’s ordinance.
⁹ For YHVH will lead Yisrael with merriment,
by the light of his glory,
together with the mercy and righteousness that is from him.