Whoever hides her hides the wind ¹  or grasps ²  oil with his right hand. ³ 

Why should any living person ¹  complain when punished for his sins? ² 

For the stones in the walls will cry out, and the wooden rafters will answer back. ¹ 

But if you want anything in addition, ¹  it will have to be settled ²  in a legal assembly. ³ 

But I have this against you: You have departed ¹  from your first love!

Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, “What city are you from?” The person would answer, “I, your servant, ¹  am from one of the tribes of Israel.”

On the next day ¹  Moses sat to judge ²  the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

And all the Israelites murmured ¹  against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died ²  in the land of Egypt, or if only we had perished ³  in this wilderness!

I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ¹  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ²  and judge fairly, ³  whether between one citizen and another ⁴  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁵ 

So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. ¹ 

Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person’s ¹  words?

Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: ¹  for my case is against you priests! ² 

When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints?

Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, ¹  so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates! ² 

Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. ¹  Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, ²  and I will return it to you!”

He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king ¹  is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me.” ²  They said, “He is witness!”

But David said to Achish, “What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?”

Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’

I considered these things carefully ¹  and then registered a complaint with the wealthy ²  and the officials. I said to them, “Each one of you is seizing the collateral ³  from your own countrymen!” ⁴  Because of them I called for ⁵  a great public assembly.

Your courtiers ¹  are like locusts, your officials ²  are like a swarm of locusts! They encamp in the walls on a cold day, yet when the sun rises, they ³  fly away; ⁴  and no one knows where they ⁵  are. ⁶