is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.

Likewise, the most ¹  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, ²  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

“But there is hope for ¹  a tree: ²  If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! ¹  Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations! ¹  Quickly send your compassion our way, ²  for we are in serious trouble! ³ 

The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.

Their residents are powerless, ¹  they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field, or green vegetation. ²  They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³  when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

Their residents are powerless; ¹  they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. ²  They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³  when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

Be merciful, ¹  just as your Father is merciful.

He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water.

Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger stifled his compassion?”

The Beloved to Her Lover: Catch ¹  the foxes ²  for us, the little foxes, ³  that ruin the vineyards ⁴  – for our vineyard is in bloom.

For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

But leave its taproot ¹  in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it ²  surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with ³  the animals in the grass of the land.

‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ¹  and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words concerning this place and its residents. You humbled yourself before me, tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

But Jacob ¹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ²  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ³  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die.

How can I give you up, ¹  O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! ²  All my tender compassions are aroused! ³ 

For the waters of Nimrim are gone; ¹  the grass is dried up, the vegetation has disappeared, and there are no plants.

‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ¹  and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. ²  You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

Will it make numerous supplications to you, ¹  will it speak to you with tender words? ²