ruin and misery are in their paths,

“Why does God ²  give ³  light to one who is in misery, ⁴  and life to those ⁵  whose soul is bitter,

let them ¹  drink and forget ²  their poverty, and remember their misery no more.

In the fullness of his sufficiency, ¹  distress ²  overtakes him. the full force of misery will come upon him. ³ 

thus ¹  I have been made to inherit ²  months of futility, ³  and nights of sorrow ⁴  have been appointed ⁵  to me.

For you ¹  will forget your trouble; ²  you will remember it like water that ³  has flowed away.

Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ¹  over the miseries that are coming on you.

They threw away the foreign gods they owned ¹  and worshiped ²  the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. ³ 

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression ¹  of the king ²  is severe upon his victim. ³ 

They sat in utter darkness, ¹  bound in painful iron chains, ² 

ז (Zayin) Remember ¹  my impoverished and homeless condition, ²  which is a bitter poison. ³ 

“Oh, ¹  if only my grief ²  could be weighed, ³  and my misfortune laid ⁴  on the scales too! ⁵ 

If I had not found encouragement in your law, ¹  I would have died in my sorrow. ² 

The Lord said, “I have surely seen ¹  the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ² 

and the people believed. When they heard ¹  that the Lord had attended to ²  the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground. ³ 

If I am guilty, ¹  woe ²  to me, and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; ³  I am full of shame, ⁴  and satiated with my affliction. ⁵ 

So Leah became pregnant ¹  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ²  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ³  Surely my husband will love me now.”

They repay me evil for the good I have done; ¹  I am overwhelmed with sorrow. ² 

As for their enemies, ¹  they decreased in number and were beaten down, because of painful distress ²  and suffering.

and I have promised ¹  that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ²  to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’