They crouch, they bear ¹  their young, they bring forth the offspring they have carried. ² 

Honor ¹  the Lord from your wealth and from the first fruits of all your crops; ² 

The reward ¹  which the righteous receive ²  is life; the recompense ³  which the wicked receive ⁴  is judgment. ⁵ 

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: ¹  to eat and drink, ²  and find enjoyment in all their ³  hard work ⁴  on earth ⁵  during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward. ⁶ 

“Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth! Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one are more numerous than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

The Lord swears an oath by his right hand, by his strong arm: ¹  “I will never again give your grain to your enemies as food, and foreigners will not drink your wine, which you worked hard to produce.

Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you.

Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work?

Mark, Aristarchus, ¹  Demas ²  and Luke, my colaborers, greet you too.

You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against him. ¹  You must not withhold ²  the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning.

So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he ¹  heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression.

Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; ¹  the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces. ² 

Then those in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers ¹  has failed! The debris is so great that we are unable to rebuild the wall.”

Then I considered ¹  all the skillful work ²  that is done: Surely it is nothing more than ³  competition ⁴  between one person and another. ⁵  This also is profitless – like ⁶  chasing the wind.

This is another misfortune: ¹  Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

So I say: “Don’t look at me! ¹  I am weeping bitterly. Don’t try ²  to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” ³ 

As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver and strains and cries out because of her labor pains, so were we because of you, O Lord.

Danger awaits one who says ¹  to his father, “What in the world ²  are you fathering?” and to his mother, “What in the world are you bringing forth?” ³ 

Why did I ever come forth from my mother’s womb? All I experience is trouble and grief, and I spend my days in shame. ¹ 

The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear ¹  when he hears news of their coming. ²  Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ³