I was stupid, and I did not understand. I was like a dumb animal in your presence.
Why do you think of us as cattle? Why are we considered stupid in your eyes?
Don’t be stubborn like a horse or mule. ⌞They need⌟ a bit and bridle in their mouth to restrain them, or they will not come near you.”
Indeed, one can see that wise people die, that foolish and stupid people meet the same end. They leave their riches to others.
O God, you know my stupidity, and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you.
A stupid person cannot know and a fool cannot understand
that wicked people sprout like grass and all troublemakers blossom ⌞like flowers⌟, only to be destroyed forever.
I’m more ⌞like⌟ a dumb animal than a human being. I don’t ⌞even⌟ have human understanding.
I thought to myself, “God is going to test humans in order to show them that they are ⌞like⌟ animals.”
Oxen know their owners, and donkeys know where their masters feed them. But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟. My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.