Chapter I

I

"They became insolent in their prosperity . . . ."

I cried unto the Lord when I was in distress,
Unto God when sinners assailed.
Suddenly the alarm of war was heard before me;
I said, He will hearken to me for I am full of righteousness.
I thought in my heart that I was full of righteousness,
Because I was well off and had become rich in children.
Their wealth spread to the whole earth,
And their glory unto the end of the earth.
They were exalted unto the stars;
They said they would never fan.
But they became insolent in their prosperity,
And they were without understanding,
Their sins were in secret,
And even I had no knowledge of them.
Their transgressions went beyond those of the heathen before them;
They utterly polluted the holy things of the Lord.