7  “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

8  or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;¹

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9  Who among all these does not know

that ^hthe hand of the Lord has done this?

10  In ⁱhis hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

5  Since his ^tdays are determined,

and ^uthe number of his months is with you,

and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

34  He ^mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

14  from ^awhere he sits enthroned he ^blooks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

15  he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

4  “O Lord, ^bmake me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

5  Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and ^cmy lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely ^dall mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

6  For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes ^tlifting up,

7  but it is ^uGod who executes judgment,

^vputting down one and lifting up another.

3  Behold, ^bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your ^jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

5  ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”

11  ^mGive us ⁿthis day our daily bread,¹

52  ^jhe has brought down the mighty from their thrones

^land exalted those of humble estate;