for gold and silver items, and for all the work of the craftsmen. Who else wants to contribute to the Lord today?”

Now give me wisdom and discernment so ¹  I can effectively lead this nation. ²  Otherwise ³  no one is able ⁴  to make judicial decisions for ⁵  this great nation of yours.” ⁶ 

But I replied, “Should a man like me run away? Would someone like me flee to the temple in order to save his life? ¹  I will not go!”

Then King Ahasuerus responded ¹  to Queen Esther, “Who is this individual? Where is this person to be found who is presumptuous enough ²  to act in this way?”

I also have understanding ¹  as well as you; I am not inferior to you. ²  Who does not know such things as these? ³ 

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ¹  How faint is the whisper ²  we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

“If only I had ¹  someone to hear me! Here is my signature – ²  let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment ³  that my accuser had written. ⁴ 

you asked, ¹  ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ But ²  I have declared without understanding ³  things too wonderful for me to know. ⁴ 

I wish the deliverance ¹  of Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, ²  may Jacob rejoice, ³  may Israel be happy! ⁴ 

With all my strength I will say, ¹  “O Lord, who can compare to you? You rescue ²  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ³  the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ⁴ 

Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. ¹  Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” ² 

I wish the deliverance ¹  of Israel would come from Zion! When God restores the well-being of his people, ²  may Jacob rejoice, ³  may Israel be happy! ⁴ 

Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet ¹  he will be master over all the fruit of ²  my labor ³  for which I worked so wisely ⁴  on earth! ⁵  This also is futile!

Who really knows if the human spirit ¹  ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ²  because that is their ³  reward; for who can show them what the future holds? ⁴ 

The one who loves money ¹  will never be satisfied with money, ²  he who loves wealth ³  will never be satisfied ⁴  with his ⁵  income. This also is futile.

But whoever is among ¹  the living ²  has hope; a live dog is better than a dead lion.

yet a fool keeps on babbling. ¹  No one knows what will happen; who can tell him what will happen in the future? ² 

The Speaker: ¹  Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, like ²  a fragrant billow ³  of myrrh and frankincense, ⁴  every kind of fragrant powder ⁵  of the traveling merchants? ⁶ 

The Beloved to Her Lover: Oh, how I wish you were ¹  my little brother, ²  nursing at my mother’s breasts; if I saw ³  you outside, I could kiss you – surely ⁴  no one would despise me! ⁵