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“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
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I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.
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When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;
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before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
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before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.
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I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
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when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
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when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
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Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
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rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.