² From before the mountains began,
    and before you made the world,
you were already there, as God.
    You have no beginning and no end.
³ People return to dust in the ground when they die.
    You say, ‘Become dust again, you people.’^[a]
4 For you, a thousand years is only a short time.
They pass as quickly as a day for you,
    or just a few hours in the night.